Culture seen as key to soft power

Senior officials yesterday called on the country to boost its "soft power" to provide a cultural element to its rise.

Liu Yunshan, head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the appeal during a special consultative conference in Beijing organized by the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

"To improve its cultural soft power, China should maintain its cultural liveliness by promoting innovation and drawing useful lessons from foreign experiences, while at the same time preserving the country's traditional cultural heritage as well," said Liu, who is also a member of the Political Bureau and the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee.