BEIJING, Aug. 20 -- President Xi Jinping vowed to uphold socialism with Chinese characteristics and China's independent "path, theory and system" on Wednesday as China marked the 110th anniversary of the birth of Deng Xiaoping.

Addressing a symposium to mark the anniversary, which falls on Friday, Xi said the most important political and theoretical legacies of the late Chinese leader are socialism with Chinese characteristics, which the Party and people created under the leadership of Deng.

Socialism with Chinese characteristics fits China's reality and meets the needs of the times, which is why it works, he said.

"The independent path, theory and system are key to the sovereignty and dignity of our country as well as the self-esteem and independence of the Chinese nation," he said.

"We will try our best to reform areas that are weak and unsound and learn from good experiences of foreign countries. But we will never completely copy foreign experience let alone absorb bad things from them," he said.

China will never belittle itself nor forget its roots, Xi said, adding that the country's contemporary history has proven the only right way to solve problems in China is to do so in its own way and based on its own reality.

Senior leaders Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli attended the event.

The symposium, held at the Great Hall of the People, was presided over by Liu Yunshan.

Deng was born on Aug. 22, 1904 in southwest China's Sichuan Province. He was called the "chief architect of China's reform and opening-up" for his painstaking efforts in leading the country's modern-day transformation starting in the 1970s.