Officials vow further efforts in building cultural confidence

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China will continue to combine the social and economic benefits in cultural institutional reform and cultural industry development, while prioritizing the social benefits, said Sun Zhijun, Vice Minister of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee.

Sun’s words came at a Friday morning press conference at the 19th CPC National Congress, with leading officials briefing media on the ethical and cultural progress achieved in the past five years, as well as the plans and measures to be expected in the future.

The press conference was jointly held by officials from the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Office of the National Steering Committee for Ethical and Cultural Progress, the Ministry of Culture and the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.

Social benefits of culture are always a priority

While taking a question from CGTN’s reporter Zou Yun on the social and economic benefits of cultural institutional reform, Sun Zhijun said social benefits are always the priority, since culture bears both educational and recreational functions in China.

“We cannot focus solely on market share, ratings, box office, revenues and so on. We should not enslave ourselves to the market or be dominated by the market influence,” said Sun. He also added that it was a big challenge to be addressed while deepening cultural reform.

Sun added that measures have been adopted at all levels. From the top-level designing, instructions have been issued to specify the general requirements and policies, which have fundamental and overall significance.

Lead officials take reporters' questions at a press conference. /CGTN Photo

The second press conference at the 19th CPC National Congress. /CGTN Photo

Meanwhile, a modern corporate system with cultural features is also being established, to encourage the cultural industries to conform to the laws and regulations in terms of business philosophy, management structure and performance evaluation.

He also stressed the importance of creating a favorable environment through administration for the cultural industries to develop and join in the market competition while maintaining the social benefits.

Balanced cultural development in rural and urban areas

The officials also responded to the imbalanced cultural development in rural and urban areas, saying that it is a crucial problem in the construction of public culture.

Xiang Zhaolun, Vice Minister of Culture, said that various measures have been adopted in solving the problems of imbalance in the construction of public culture, especially in rural areas.

The Ministry of Culture has set detailed criteria for the content and amount of public cultural services that should be provided to the people in both urban and rural areas, which will be gradually implemented, said Xiang.

The second press conference at the 19th CPC National Congress. /CGTN Photo

Meanwhile, a network has been established to provide cultural services for the people across the country, especially those living in remote areas. Xiang explained that the network involved projects such as mobile library vans and cultural vans, as well as the construction of cultural centers and libraries.

Digital cultural resources have also been widely promoted, and in many county-level libraries, people could read millions of digital books, magazines, and newspapers stored in the National Library.

Xiang also emphasized the role of talent in the construction of public cultural services. Some hundreds of thousands of volunteers have been organized to work in remote areas every year, he said.

Further development of cultural industry

Reporters at the press conference of the 19th CPC National Congress. /CGTN Photo‍

As the report of the 19th CPC National Congress has put forward new requirements for promoting the cultural industry, Vice Minister Sun Zhijun said in order to meet the people’s growing needs for a better life, the CPC will put more effort in their future work.

The added value of the cultural industry has increased from 1.8 trillion yuan (271.8 billion US dollars) in 2012 to 3.08 trillion yuan (465.1 billion US dollars) in 2016, accounting for 4.14 percent of the GDP.

Sun emphasized the “new” elements in the future development of the cultural industry. New developing ideas should be the instruction in the future development, so as to promote the supply-side reforms of the cultural industry, as well as promote the transformation and elevation of the industry, said Sun.

New requirements need to be fulfilled, thus creations in content, forms, measures and modes are necessary, he went on to say. Meanwhile, the strategy of “internet plus” should be adopted to cultivate new motives, and new markets should be fostered.

Chinese media message going global

Vice Minister Sun Zhijun of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee praised China’s increasing “cultural soft power” both domestically and overseas.

“International cultural exchanges, media communications, cultural trade have become more coordinated, so as to better tell Chinese stories, make China’s voice heard, and improve China’s cultural influence and say in the world,” he said.

Foreign reporters at the press conference at the 19th CPC National Congress. /CGTN Photo

Sun also acknowledged during the question and answer session that he was paying close attention to recent surveys suggesting that China’s soft power is increasingly recognized globally.

“China’s global image and profile is improving, those views are objective,” he said in reference to recent research from the Pew Research Center.

Zhang Hongsen, Vice Minister of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, stressed the role of CGTN’s digital platforms in pushing China’s message overseas, noting that CGTN’s Facebook page has more followers than any other news outlet in the world. Sun added that the CGTN TV channels now reach 168 countries and regions.

China’s network for marketing film and TV programs abroad now covers more than 100 countries and regions, with partnerships such as the “Silk Road Film & TV Project” and a China-Africa film agreement put in place in 2012.

A reporter recording the press conference. /CGTN Photo

Reporters recording the press conference. /CGTN Photo

The role of cultural exchanges to boost China’s image and influence overseas – particularly via the Belt and Road Initiative – was also emphasized, with cultural exports hitting a total value of 78.66 billion US dollars in 2016 alone.

Sun revealed that China was “exploring media cooperation with other countries,” and added that China wants to work with the US and other countries to further new kinds of international relationships.

Ahead of the Q&A section, the officials also briefed the media about the achievements in the cultural sectors over the past five years, including the culture-related legislation, public cultural service construction, cultural relics protection and the construction of a modern media system.

All of them vowed continued efforts in building stronger cultural confidence and promoting socialist culture, called for by the report delivered by Xi Jinping at the opening session of the 19th CPC National Congress on Wednesday.

(All photos in the article are by Gao Xingzi)

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