While charting ambitious goals for economic and social development in the next five years and by 2020, General Secretary Hu Jintao yesterday also stressed the need to enhance Chinese culture as the country's "soft power" in his keynote speech to the Party congress.

"Culture has become a more and more important source of national cohesion and creativity and a factor of growing significance in overall national strength," Hu said.

We must "enhance culture as part of the soft power of our country to better guarantee basic cultural rights and interests," he said.

Some highlights of his proposed methods to enhance Chinese culture include:

Stepping up the development of the press, publishing industry, radio, film, television, literature and art, to give correct guidance to the public and foster healthy social trends.

Strengthening efforts to develop and manage Internet culture and foster a good cyber environment.

Continuing to develop nonprofit cultural programs as the main approach to ensuring basic cultural rights, increasing spending on such programs, and building more cultural facilities in urban communities and rural areas.

Vigorously developing the cultural industry, launching major projects to lead the industry, speeding up the development of cultural industry bases and clusters of cultural industries with regional features, nurturing key enterprises and strategic investors, creating a thriving cultural market and enhancing the industry's international competitiveness.

Establishing a national system of honors for outstanding cultural workers.

Hu said Chinese culture has been an unfailing driving force for the nation, maintaining unity and driving progress from generation to generation.

"The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will definitely be accompanied by the thriving of Chinese culture," he said.

Xinhua

(China Daily 10/16/2007 page7)