BEIJING - President Xi Jinping said Monday the focus of high-quality economic development should be placed on transforming and upgrading industries.

Efforts should be made to strengthen and improve the real economy, Xi said as he joined a panel discussion with the deputies from Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at the first session of the 13th National People's Congress, China's national legislature.

Chinese economy has transitioned from a phase of rapid growth to a stage of high-quality development, said Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, warning that old ways of thinking might lead China almost nowhere and miss precious opportunities.

Local governments should build on their strengths and tap their potential to develop more emerging, high-end, high-value-added and capital-and-technology-intensive industries, putting in place a multi-dimension and multi-pillar modern industrial mix, Xi pointed out.