BEIJING - President Xi Jinping Monday told China's ministers and provincial governors to sharpen their skills and modernize the government.

Xi made the remarks while speaking at a workshop at the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Party School on the comprehensive advancement of the reform, as demanded by the third plenary session of the 18th central committee of the CPC.

Xi told the workshop that the CPC's mission is to find a "stable and effective" system for development, the wellbeing of the people and society's long-term stability.

An effective governing system will only happen if Party and officials' integrity, capability and skills are improved and the efficiency of Party organs, government departments, public institutions, enterprises and civil organizations are raised, he said.

To modernize the CPC must rule in an "scientific, democratic and legal manner," he said.

"A governing system is determined by history, cultural tradition, economic development, and the will of the people," he said.

Although China's current system needs improvement, the CPC should be confident that it represents the results of gradual development based on  history, culture and the economy. Confidence in the current system does not mean fear of reform, he said.

"Without confidence, the CPC will not have the courage to reform and without reform, confidence will not last long," he said.

Open-minded, Chinese people are good at learning and incorporating what they learn into their own system, Xi said.

Also attending the workshop were the six other members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli.