Chinese President Hu Jintao vowed Tuesday to further improve officials' capability to guide development in a scientific way, as an 18-month nationwide study campaign for the Communist Party of China (CPC) drew to a close.

Hu hailed the campaign implementing the Scientific Outlook on Development as "effective" while delivering the keynote speech at a conference that marked the campaign's conclusion.

The study campaign achieved its aim of enhancing CPC members' ideological understanding, solved prominent problems, innovated mechanisms, promoted scientific development, and strengthened grassroots party organizations, Hu said.

"However, there is still a lot to do to apply the campaign's achievements to regular work," he warned.

The just-concluded campaign focused on educating officials above the county-level.

Hu said the CPC will draw on campaign experiences to strengthen officials' education and training in the future and to improve their capabilities in planning and promoting development, providing public service, and maintaining social stability.

"The implementation of the Scientific Outlook on Development hinges on government officials at various levels," he said.

To further implement the Outlook, it is crucial to enhance officials' capability to lead and promote development in their jurisdiction in a scientific way and to promote social harmony, he said.

The CPC should set officials' integrity, performance and their dedication to their work as important criteria for selecting and appointing cadres, he said.

An appraisal system favoring cadres who adhere to the Scientific Outlook on Development and are able to guide their jurisdictions to achieve such development should be formed, according to Hu.

He urged officials to do their work honestly and to beware of the temptations of power, money and women to wage a war against corruption.

The campaign inspired the CPC that it is fundamentally important to pool the people's strength and wisdom to further implement the Outlook, Hu said.

With the aim of promoting sound and fast economic and social development, an indepth implementation of the Outlook should be driven by innovating existing mechanisms and institutions, and be based on equipping CPC members and officials with new achievements made by applying Marxism in China, he said.

Tuesday's conference was presided over by Vice President Xi Jinping.

As an extension of the study campaign, the CPC has recently launched a new campaign to encourage members and grassroots party organizations to strive to be model members and organizations, according to Xi.

Senior Party and State leaders Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang also attended the meeting.

The campaign, launched in September 2008, involved all 75 million Party members from more than 3.7 million Party branches across the country.

The Scientific Outlook on Development set forth by the CPC in 2003 emphasizes the well-being of the people and a comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable approach to development.

The People's Daily, the CPC's mouthpiece, is to publish an editorial Wednesday hailing the campaign's far-reaching significance to both China's development and the Party.

(Xinhua News Agency April 6, 2010)