The Party's leadership over deepening reform should be enhanced and improved because the tasks have become more complex and difficult, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said on Wednesday.

Xi, also president of China and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remark at the first meeting of the Central Committee for Deepening Overall Reform.

The committee was set up through the Central Leading Group for Deepening Overall Reform in line with an institutional reform plan unveiled this month. Xi, who previously headed the group, is now director of the newly established committee.

Deputy directors of the committee — Li Keqiang, Wang Huning and Han Zheng — all also attended the meeting.

During the meeting, committee members reviewed and adopted a number of rules and regulations covering areas such as discipline and inspection, environmental protection, justice, pilot free trade zone, State-owned enterprises and public security.

The recent launch of institutional reform marks a new stage for the country's reform procedures, Xi said, adding that the reform will touch the interests of deeper levels.

Changing the Central Leading Group for Deepening Overall Reform into the committee is a significant measure to strengthen the Party's leadership over major works, said a statement released after the meeting.

Party committees of all levels should enhance their leadership over reform, build up their capacity for coordination and ensure that the CPC Central Committee's decisions could be carried out, the statement said.

The reform should focus on such areas as macro-management, market supervision, education and culture, health, medical insurance, environmental protection, emergency management, veteran services and immigration and law enforcement, which are areas of concern among the people, the statement said.

The importance of building a national anti-corruption system was highlighted at the meeting, and the system should be under the unified leadership of the Party, with full coverage, authoritative and effective.

Since the Party's 18th National Congress in late 2012, the CPC Central Committee has launched a round of supervision over environmental protection work nationwide, which led to the punishment of more than 18,000 officials and the resolution of more than 80,000 cases related to environmental protection, the statement said.