Xi will head Internet Security and Informatisation Leading Group, said a statement released after the first meeting of the body here today.
Xi, who presided over the meeting, stressed that internet security and informatisation is a major strategic issue concerning the country's security and development as well as people's life and work.
"Efforts should be made to build our country into a cyber power," Xi was quoted as saying by state-run Xinhua news agency.
Premier Li Keqiang is also a member of the group.
The US last year accused Chinese military of mounting attacks on American government computer systems and defence contractors. But China had rebutted the accusation.