Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for efforts in promoting the patriotism and dedication demonstrated by a late militia member who spent 32 years guarding an island post.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said the spirit of Wang Jicai, former head of the militia post on Kaishan Island in east China's Jiangsu Province, should be pursued by hardworking people in the new era.