BEIJING: At the Forum on Building up China’s Cultural Strength 2025 held in Shenzhen, South China’s Guangdong Province, senior officials, professionals from cultural sectors and experts on diverse disciplines called on thoroughly implementing the Global Civilization Initiative, advancing open cooperation in the cul-tural field, and deepening exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations.
Themed “deepening reform in the cultural sector to ignite cultural creativity,” the forum was hosted by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.
Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Publicity De-partment of the CPC Central Committee, attended the conference and delivered a keynote speech.
The forum of this year consists of a main forum on Monday and 10 breakout sessions, including build-ing Chinese intellectual system of philosophy and social sciences, transformation of mainstream me-dia, cultural heritage preservation and inheritance, and development of art and literature, as well as publishing and film industries. Experts are also exchanging ideas on empowering culture with science and technology, according to the organizer.
As a cultural forum of the high level in China, Forum on Building up China’s Cultural Strength was initi-ated in 2023. Focusing on the main them of the times, building a communication platform, and leading cultural trends, the 2025 edition of this significant forum is to further rally a strong joint force to pro-mote cultural innovation and prosperity, so as to build up China’s cultural strength, observers said.
Attendees to the forum included officials of publicity departments, representatives of cultural enter-prises and public institutions, and scholars and experts.
The participants agreed that it is imperative to boldly advance reform in the cultural sector, further re-lease and develop cultural productive forces, and steadily promote cultural prosperity.
Reform in the cultural sector should focus on addressing the key challenges hindering cultural devel-opment, the participants said.
They also called for efforts to advance the integration of culture and science and technology, as well as to promote openness and cooperation in the cultural sector.
Zhang Yiwu, a professor of cultural studies at Peking University, told the Global Times on Monday that the forum provides a platform for boosting cultural development, promoting inter-disciplinary com-munication and integration, and deepening global understanding of China through a cultural perspec-tive.
Cultural strength is an integral part of comprehensive national strength; it is the outcome of rising cul-tural confidence and will conversely further consolidate our cultural confidence, Zhang said.
Zhang Zhiqiang, a research fellow and director of the Institute of Philosophy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said on Monday at the forum that the Chinese civilization has endured for millennia without interruption and remained resilient despite numerous hardships. He concluded that behind the continuous development of Chinese civilization are generations of Chinese nationals who have driven its progress through constant innovation. –The Daily Mail-Global Times news exchange item
