BEIJING, May 27 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for better coordination between government work and market forces in promoting sustainable economic and social development.

Calling the relationship between government and the market the core issue in economic reform, Xi said that the roles of the two are not contradictory and should not be pitted against each other.

"China will well use both 'visible' and 'invisible' hands," he said at a collective study of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee on Monday.

Although economic reform has made progress in recent decades, market vitality is still shackled by many institutional flaws.

To straighten out the relationship between the two, the president said China will continue its efforts to let market forces play a "decisive" role in allocating resources while making sure the government functions better.

The decisive role of the market cannot replace or negate the role of the government, and vice versa, according to Xi.

He said China will stick to market-oriented reform and refrain from intervening in microeconomic activities. It will forge a unified and open market, in which economic entities can compete fairly under a set of transparent rules.

In addition to loosening grips on the market, Xi said the Chinese government also needs scientific macroeconomic controls and effective governance.

To that end, it will improve macroeconomic control measures, optimize public services and enhance social justice, according to the president.