China's President Xi Jinping is tightening ideological control of the Communist Party of China (CPC) by emphasizing Marxist thought on "dialectical materialism" as a way of carrying out more national reforms.

Xi recounted that in 2013, the bureau gathered for a discussion with CPC members to get a better grasp of ideas put forward by Karl Marx, a 19^th century German philosopher and economist who advocated international communism.

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The president, who also sits as secretary-general of the Communist Party Central Committee, told members of the CPC Political Bureau to study Marxist philosophy on historical and dialectical materialism while leading a meeting on Friday last week.

The Chinese premier warned cadres that the challenges and conditions in the country and overseas are shifting. Although China has managed spectacular growth through three decades of reforms, the milestones in improving living standards, productivity and "national strength" are not enough.

He said an ideology that lays down the way through new developments and dealing with world realities should be the core of the party. He advised all party members to spread basic socialist values and be open to apparent development contradictions.

A fast-growing gross domestic product (GDP) is not the sole yardstick of success, Xi said, adding China's progress should be measured by its ability to move up the ladder of development, commitment to saving the environment, restructuring and fixing a glut in factories.

The president stressed that experience is the best teacher, pointing out that dialectical methods can help resolve problems with a myriad complications. He said communist party members should look into the past for answers, trickling down gains to the majority and strictly pushing the rule of law in managing the party.

TagsMarxist, dialectical materialism