Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang on Saturday called for efforts to cultivate more talents and come up with more research findings to support the development of civil aviation industry.

Zhang made the remarks at a rally celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Civil Aviation University of China (CAUC), which was held in the northern city of Tianjin.

The key factor for developing the civil aviation industry is cultivating talents, while the foundation lies in education, Zhang said.

Zhang said the civil aviation industry, as an organic part of the country's integrated transport system, is a foundation industry of strategic importance to the development of the national economy.

Noting that the next five years is a crucial period for the industry, Zhang urged for arduous efforts and pioneering spirits to promote the sector's development.

Zhang also hailed the CAUC's achievements made in the fields such as imparting knowledge and conducting scientific research, and asked it to further innovate its teaching to improve the talent quality and train more talents for the sector.