BEIJING, Jan. 1 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on the Economic Daily to innovate the philosophy and ways of economic reporting and better tell China's economic development stories in the new era.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in a congratulatory letter on the 40th anniversary of the launch of the newspaper.

Extending congratulations to all staff members of the newspaper, Xi noted that with a focus on the central work of the CPC and the government, the newspaper has played an important role in disseminating the Party's new theories, interpreting economic policies, and reporting economic achievements over the past 40 years, among others.

Xi expressed the hope that the Economic Daily will study and implement the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress, maintain the correct political orientation, and accelerate the establishment of the systems for communications across all forms of media to make a greater contribution to promoting the high-quality development of China's economy and better telling its economic development stories in the new era.

Xi's letter was read out by Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, at a meeting to mark the anniversary on Sunday afternoon in Beijing.

The gist of Xi's important instructions should be earnestly studied and implemented, Li said, stressing that the newspaper should focus on its unique strength in economic reporting, improve the quality of its news reports and shore up confidence in development. Li called for efforts to establish the systems for communications across all forms of media and run the newspaper even better.

The Economic Daily was established in Beijing on Jan. 1, 1983.