A senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has urged sociologists and philosophers to study and summarize the major achievements of China's 30-year reform and opening-up drive, and make breakthroughs in this regard.

Scholars should also systematically summarize the 60-year experience of the People's Republic of China, and the 90-year history of the CPC, said Liu Yunshan, member of both the Political Bureau and Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, Wednesday.

Liu stressed the importance to study and explain major theoretical views, strategic thought and important plans adopted by the 17th CPC National Congress.

Liu, who also heads the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, addressed a conference to appraise the applications for government funds used for sociological studies.

The development of China's sociological studies relies on reform and innovation, Liu said. He urged Chinese scholars to carry out more academic exchanges with their foreign counterparts.

(Xinhua News Agency May 15, 2008)