Xi vows opposition against words, actions damaging ethnic unity

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for resolute opposition to any words and actions that damage the country's ethnic unity.

"We will build a 'wall of bronze and iron' for ethnic unity, social stability and national unity," he said while joining a panel discussion with members from the minority ethnic groups of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

Xi said the tradition of all ethnic groups in the country "breathing the same air and sharing the same fate" should be handed down from generation to generation.

"Unity and stability are blessings, while secession and turmoil are disasters," he said. "People of all ethnic groups of the country should cherish ethnic unity."

Xi also urged that everything possible be done to accelerate the social and economic development of China's minority ethnic groups and the ethnic areas and to bring concrete benefits to people there.

The Chinese president's remarks came days after a group of knife-wielding attackers killed 29 people and injured 143 others at a crowded train station in southwest China's Kunming City.

The country's political advisors convened Monday in Beijing for their annual full session that is scheduled to last 10 days.