Xi said to achieve that, the officials had to bear three principles in mind.

First, they had to consider national interest. “Whether you are the person in charge of the executive branch, legislature or the judiciary, you must ... observe and think of issues from the national perspective, and take the initiative in safeguarding national sovereignty, security and developmental interests,” he said.

“Sometimes you also need to resist pressures and stand firm,” Xi added.

Third, they had to maintain unity. “The governing team is a whole. One’s glory is everyone’s glory, and one’s loss is everyone’s loss ... You must be self-conscious in defending the team’s unity and the chief executive’s authority.

“You must also support and coordinate with each other in your work ... Only through this [could you] ensure a firm and powerful governance, and improve efficiency,” he said.

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At the end of his six-minute speech, the president said he would be visiting Russia and Germany next week, as well as attending the G20 summit in Hamburg.

“Right now, the global economic and political situations are undergoing unprecedented adjustments ... and there will be drastic changes in Hong Kong’s internal and external environments too,” he said.

“As I have said before, if we do not ... adapt to changes and seek changes, we could be trapped in a strategically passive situation, and miss opportunities for development, or even miss an entire era.”

He added that he hoped the city’s executive, legislative and judicial branches could do their job and produce an “exam paper with a passing grade”.

Xi left Hong Kong on Saturday afternoon after a three-day visit – his first since becoming the country’s president in 2013.