BEIJING - China will stick to and improve its current family planning policy and maintain a low birth rate, President Hu Jintao has said.

Hu, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks Tuesday at the 28th group study of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

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Population is a key factor in economic and social development that concerns the success of China's reform and opening up, as well as the future of the Chinese nation, Hu said.

China is a big developing country with a population of more than 1.3 billion, which is a fundamental reality that should be kept in mind when making decisions and taking actions, he said.

China should adhere to the basic state policy of family planning and deal with its population problems with the aim of achieving all-round development of people, he said.

The president also called for efforts in improving population quality and building China into a country strong in human resources.

Problems concerning the birth sex ratio should be addressed, and gender equity efforts enhanced, he said.

Hu stressed orderly migration and reasonable distribution of people, and that management and services for the floating population should be improved.

Further, the president urged efforts to improve the systems of social security and old-age services. China should formulate and implement strategies and policies to cope with the aging of population.

Guardian families of orphans, families with elders and disabled persons, those who were struck by disasters, among others, shall get more support and assistance, he said.

Hu urged CPC committees and governments at all levels to unswervingly implement decisions on the population work made by central authorities, and put the population work in a more prominent position.

He also told CPC committees and governments at all levels to conduct in-depth research into population development strategies and speed up the construction of information systems for population management.

Zhai Zhenwu, a professor with the School of Sociology & Population Studies at Renmin University of China, and Yu Xuejun, a research fellow from the research center of the aging of population and economic and social development of the National Population and Family Planning Commission, delivered speeches on population management during the study session.