BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday sent his Spring Festival greetings to the youth of Hong Kong, asking them to serve Hong Kong and the country with their actions.

President Xi Jinping greets children while visiting the Junior Police Call Permanent Activity Centre and Integrated Youth Training Camp in Pat Heung on June 30, 2017. [Photo/China Daily]

Xi made the remarks in a letter replying to the members of the Junior Police Call (JPC). He visited its permanent activity center and integrated youth training camp on June 30, 2017, a day before the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China.

During the visit, he met 22 members of the JPC, who recently sent him a greeting card hand-made by themselves for the Spring Festival, in which they delivered festive wishes and expectations of meeting President Xi again.

"You put a lot of heart into the card with delicate handwriting, and your wishes touched me deeply," Xi wrote in the letter, expressing his gratitude and joy upon receiving the greeting card.

He said the photos on the card reminded him of his meeting with the members last year, who were all young and energetic, and illustrated the positive spirits of the youth of Hong Kong.

He said he hoped that they could read and travel more, learn more about history and the national conditions, broaden their vision and improve their knowledge and ability, so that they could "serve Hong Kong and the country with their actions," as the future of the motherland and Hong Kong counted on the younger generation.

Founded in 1974 and affiliated to the Hong Kong Police Force, the JPC is a major youth organization in Hong Kong with a membership of more than 210,000, making it one of the largest police youth organizations in the world.

It is considered an important platform to educate the youth on law and patriotism in Hong Kong, having attracted over a million young people in total to participate so far.