BEIJING -- Thursday marks China's Teachers' Day, which is celebrated on Sept 10 every year since 1985.

President Xi Jinping has, on many occasions, expressed expectations for educators in the country and underscored the importance of education in China's long-term development.

The following are some highlights of his quotes:

-- We need to make teaching the most esteemed and admired profession in society.

-- It would be good fortune for one to have a good teacher; it would be an honor for a school to host great teachers; spawning such outstanding teachers constantly would bestow hopes on a nation.

-- Education equity underpins social fairness. Unremitting efforts should be made to ensure that the development of education benefits all our people in a fair way, thus driving forward social fairness and justice.

-- Strengthening education is fundamental to our pursuit of national rejuvenation. We must give priority to education, further reform education, speed up its modernization, and develop education in a way that people are satisfied with.

-- Teachers are engineers of the human soul and disseminators of human civilization. They are tasked with the mission of the times to spread knowledge, ideas and truth.

-- The Communist Party of China and the entire society need to promote the social norms of respecting teachers and valuing education. Efforts should be made to enhance the political, social, and professional status of teachers so they can enjoy their due social prestige and make greater contributions to the cause of the Party and the people by imparting knowledge and educating people.