President Hu Jintao has asked officials at all levels to be industrious and thrifty to cope with the economic downturn, and accord priority to what people need.

"Under the current situation, maintaining (the practice of) hard work and frugality makes practical sense," he said in a keynote speech at a plenary session of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) top anti-corruption body yesterday.

Austerity should be practiced in all fields and officials should be honest and practical, he told the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.