President Hu Jintao meets with representatives attending the People's Liberation Army's working conference on military equipment in Beijing Sept. 26, 2006. (Xinhua Photo)

President Hu Jintao hailed the "historic breakthroughs" of China's defense industry during the Tenth Five-Year Plan period (2001-2005) and pledged to push forward the development of the industry.

Hu, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), met with representatives attending the People's Liberation Army's working conference on military equipment on Tuesday.

During the Tenth Five-Year Plan period, China entered a new stage in the modernization of its military equipment. It features a notable improvement in military equipment, the use of a large number of new equipment by the Army, and a remarkable increase in the Army's fighting abilities, Hu said.

China has accumulated valuable experience and fostered a large number of talented people for manufacture of military equipment, Hu said. They have created sound conditions to further push the development of the country's military equipment manufacturing sector, he noted.

Editor: Yan