BEIJING — An article by President Xi Jinping on adhering to the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics and advancing the development of the system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics will be published.

The article by Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, will be published on Feb 16 in this year's fourth issue of the Qiushi Journal, a flagship magazine of the CPC Central Committee.

As China now is in a critical stage to realize the great national rejuvenation, it is imperative to give better play to the role of the rule of law in consolidating the foundation, meeting expectations and maintaining long-term development, the article said.

It stressed adhering to the correct direction in building the rule of law system, and upholding its nature of socialism with Chinese characteristics. It also called for staying particularly sober-minded and steadfast on major issues such as upholding the Party's overall leadership and guaranteeing the running of the country by the people, and guarding against being misled by defective Western thinking.

The article urged the acceleration of legislative work in some key sectors, citing fields such as national security and the digital economy.

On deepening the reform in the rule of law, the article highlighted the principles and bottom line, stressing that the reform in the rule of law shall not blindly take the Western system or practices as a "benchmark."

The article also called for further improving foreign-related laws and regulations on countering sanctions, interference and "long-arm jurisdiction," as well as strengthened study and publicity of theories on the rule of law.