Chinese armed police force should make greater contribution to the establishment of a harmonious socialist society, State Councilor Zhou Yongkang said Thursday.

The People's Armed Police has played a vital role in maintaining national security and social stability in the past two years, where a great number of heroic models like one-armed Colonel Ding Xiaobing came to the fore, Zhou said at an extended meeting of the Party committee of the People's Armed Police.

The year 2006 is the first year of China's 11th five-year plan (2006-2010), which requires more arduous efforts in maintaining social stability, therefore the armed police should boost the building of the troops and increase ability in dealing with any possible emergencies and anti-terrorist tasks, thus providing a reliable base for the nation's development, he noted.

All the officers and men in the Armed Police should firmly implement the important instructions made by Hu Jintao, chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China, during his two meetings with the Party deputies of the Armed Police, Zhou said.

He called on the Party Committees at various levels in the Armed Police to step up ideological and political construction and further improve the combat abilities and prioritize the construction at grassroots level.

(Xinhua News Agency January 6, 2006)