BEIJING - President Xi Jinping has stressed improving innovation capabilities for key and core technologies to offer a strong technological guarantee for China's development.

Key and core technologies are crucial to a country and bear major significance for promoting China's high-quality economic development and maintaining national security, Xi, also head of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs, said at a meeting of the committee on Friday.

China must improve innovation capabilities for key and core technologies and keep a firm hold on the initiative in the development of science and technology to offer a strong technological guarantee for China's development, Xi pointed out.