BEIJING, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stressed speeding up efforts to build the country into a meteorological power and further enhance the capabilities for disaster prevention, reduction and relief.

Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks in an instruction on the 50th anniversary of the cause of Fengyun meteorological satellites.

Li extended in his instruction sincere regards to the meteorological and space workers.

The Fengyun satellites are an important space infrastructure for China and a significant symbol of the modernization of the country's meteorology, Li said.

Over the past 50 years, generations of Chinese meteorological and space workers have worked hand in hand to make innovations with continuous efforts, promoting China's civil remote sensing satellites to reach remarkable achievements, he said.

Li called on them to focus on the country's major strategies and new demands for economic and social development, make further innovations, implement well meteorological satellite planning, strengthen international cooperation, and enhance disaster prevention, reduction and relief capabilities to provide strong support for safeguarding life, serving production and development and ecological conservation, and make greater contributions to advancing the high-quality development.

A symposium was also held on Saturday in Beijing to mark the 50th anniversary of the cause of Fengyun meteorological satellites.

Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua called for efforts to promote the high-quality development of Fengyun satellites to provide more powerful meteorological services for the country's modernization drive at the symposium.