Chinese President Xi Jinping said artists should not "lose themselves" in the country's market economy and become its "slaves", but should create more works that are both artistically outstanding and morally inspiring.

Xi made the remarks at a symposium that gathered some of the country's most renowned authors, actors, scriptwriters and dancers in Beijing on Wednesday.

Artists should not "lose themselves in the tide of market economy nor go astray while answering the question of 'whom to serve,'" otherwise their works will lack vitality, he said.

The president called on artists to produce more works that "disseminate contemporary Chinese values, embody Chinese traditional culture, reflect Chinese people's aesthetic pursuit, and be of intellectual, artistic, and exhibitory importance."