Across China: Beijing

CPC must improve: Hu

President Hu Jintao, chief of the Communist Party of China (CPC), has called for a "vigorous improvement" in inner-party democracy to strengthen the Party's ruling capacity and leadership in the nation's development.

Hu, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Monday. The digest of his speech at the meeting was published Tuesday, a day ahead of the party's 88th birthday.