A People's Daily editorial published Monday stresses the fundamental principle of "depending on the working class heart and soul in China's modernization drive."

The editorial sets out to express the Chinese people's feelings about Saturday's national award ceremony for the almost 3,000 "National Model Workers" and "Advanced Workers."

"The working class is always be the main force to drive up China's economic development and safeguard social stability," the editorial says.

With the fast development in China, the members of the working class now include industrial workers and other workers, intellectuals and managerial staff in enterprises of all types of ownership, all social institutions and government organizations, it says.

In the process of building a relatively affluent society in China in an all-round way, the editorial says, "we must steadfastly depend on the working class and bring benefits to the working class."