Chinese President Hu Jintao has called for the creation of a more competitive and innovative workforce in the country, with the focus to be on training more top-notch specialists.

At a national conference on human resources in Beijing held from May 25 to 26, Hu said human resources were essential to the development of the Party and the state. He also said the quality of China's workforce was still poor compared to that of developed countries.

China aims to enhance the strength of its workforce, and place at high priority the fostering of high-caliber professionals, Hu said in a statement released after the meeting.

He said China will work to have a large, high-quality workforce, and to be a strong world power in terms of human resources by 2020.