Chinese leader Hu Jintao on Thursday called for more efforts to address ethical problems and promote social ethics.

"We should press ahead with the program for improving civic morality, exalt the true, the good, and the beautiful and reject the false, the evil, and the ugly," Hu said when addressing the opening of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Hu said China should carry out thorough education to address serious ethical problems, and step up efforts to enhance government integrity, business and social ethics and judicial integrity.

The country should strengthen and improve education in values, provide compassionate care and psychological counseling, and cultivate self-respect, self-confidence, a sense of being rational, composure, and a desire to excel oneself among the people, he said.

"We should integrate the rule of law with the rule of virtue, intensify education in public morality, professional ethics, family virtues, and individual integrity, and advocate traditional Chinese virtues and new trends of the times," he said.

The country should conduct more public activities to promote cultural and ethical progress, encourage volunteer service, and carry out regular activities to learn from paragons of virtue such as Lei Feng and publicize their exemplary deeds, he said.