Senior Chinese leader Li Changchun has called for the pushing forward of reform in the cultural system to boost comprehensive prosperity of cultural undertakings and rapid growth of cultural businesses.

Li, who is a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, urged society to break away from all the ideologies, practices, regulations and drawbacks of the system that hinders cultural development.

At a meeting held in Beijing from March 28 to 30, Li said great importance should be attached to the development of public cultural services in rural areas and development of cultural businesses.

He called for cultivating a batch of competitive cultural businesses to greatly enhance the overall strength of Chinese culture and its competitive power in the world.

He also called for the introduction of Chinese culture to the world.

Among those present at the meeting were Head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee Liu Yunshan, State Councilor Chen Zhili and Vice-Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Chen Kuiyuan.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Li Changchun, Liu Yunshan, Chen Zhili and Chen Kuiyuan also watched performance of a children's play.

Guidelines on deepening reform of the cultural system, jointly issued by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council in January, require general art troupes, publishing houses, newspapers and magazines on culture, art, life and popular science, bookstores, movie studios, theaters, TV play producers, cultural intermediary organizations to gradually restructure into market businesses.

Only a few very important cultural units will continue to enjoy state support, according to the document.

The document stresses changing the ownership structure of the cultural industry to gradually form a pattern "with public ownership as the mainstay and various forms of ownership developing side by side."

"Private capital approved by the government is encouraged to enter cultural sectors in various forms," it says.

(Xinhua News Agency March 31, 2006)