China has officially opened three high-profile cadre training colleges to improve the quality and capabilities of leading cadres and conduct international exchanges in training.

President and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Hu Jintao sent a congratulatory letter on March 16 on the official opening of the China Pudong Cadre College, China Jinggangshan Cadre College and China Yan'an Cadre College.

Hu wrote that establishing the three colleges was a major decision of the CPC Central Committee.

"To realize the lofty goal of building a well-off society in an all-round way and continuously push forward the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, there is an urgent need for us to carry out a large-scale cadre training program and improve the cadres' quality greatly," Hu wrote.

He asked the three colleges to focus on strengthening the cadres' sense of responsibility, helping them to grasp the law of governance and improve governance capability.

He said the three colleges would play an important role in carrying forward the "fine traditions and styles of the Party, improving the capabilities of leading cadres in guiding China's socialist modernization and strengthening the Party's governance capability and vanguard character."

He Guoqiang, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, attended the opening ceremonies of the three colleges, where he read Hu's letter.

(Xinhua News Agency March 22, 2005)