Chinese President Xi Jinping is emphasising “continued efforts” in pushing reforms in the nation during the crucial year of 2015, China’s state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

“This year [2014] is just the beginning of the comprehensive, in-depth reforms,” Mr Xi said on Tuesday at a meeting of officials leading implementation of the reform policy.

“Next year will be a crucial year for comprehensive reform, and morale must be raised, not weakened,” he said in a statement quoted by Xinhua.

The Government should attach more importance to the quality of the reform than the speed, the statement stressed, whereas “detailed implementation plans must be issued as soon as possible… to ensure no obstacles during the implementation [of new measures].”