Beijing will further promote the development of the cultural and creative industries and enhance its role as the city's major pillar industry and economic growth engine, said Beijing Party Secretary Liu Qi.

Visitors appreciate a sculpture at an exhibition integrated in the 2012 Beijing Forum on the Sustainable Development of Cities, which started on Wednesday. Chen Ming / for China Daily

"As the major cultural center of the country, the capital should continuously play an exemplary role of a city of advanced culture with worldwide influence," he said during the 2012 Beijing Forum on Sustainable Development of Cities held on Wednesday.

Mayors and senior officials from 25 cities around the world gathered in Beijing to share experiences and explore feasible solutions for the sustainable development of cities.

The cultural and creative industries is playing an increasing role in boosting the city's economy and the development of the industry should be placed in a very prominent position, he said.

According to the Beijing Cultural and Creative Industry Promotion Center, the added value of Beijing's cultural and creative industry has experienced sustained growth since 2005, hitting 194 billion yuan ($30.5 billion) in 2011.

Software, Internet and computer service account for the biggest share, some 38.4 percent, followed by meetings and exhibitions that contribute 12.1 percent, and press and publishing taking up 8.2 percent, according to Mei Song, director of the center.

"Culture is always the inexhaustible driving force for the development of city," he said.

The number of people working in the industry reached 882,000, a year-on-year increase of 7.7 percent.

"More and more foreign investment is eyeing the cultural and creative industry in the city, with a total of 3,069 foreign investment projects contracted from 2006 to 2011," he said.

"The government places the development of the industry in a very prominent position, which will greatly boost its growth together with the cultural resources of the city," he said.

According to the center, the capital has come up with a special fund for the industry to reward enterprises with outstanding contribution to cultural products and services exports.

Commercial banks are also encouraged to give priority to loans needed by enterprises within the industry to export products and services.

"In addition, many platforms have been built and markets developed, including the China Beijing International Cultural and Creative Industry Expo, Beijing International Film Festival and Beijing International Comic Animation Week," he said.

The city now organizes more than 100 overseas cultural activities every year, he said.

However, despite the increasing contribution of the cultural and creative industries to the city's economy and its leading position nationwide, the capital still has great potential to be tapped, one expert says.

According to Meng Haidong, secretary-general of the Beijing Cultural Development Foundation, without world-renowned brands and enterprises, Beijing still needs to make its cultural and creative products accepted and recognized by the market.

"The capital should further increase its share of cultural products and services in the international cultural market and further increase its influence worldwide," he said.

The cultural and creative industries helps boost the soft power and comprehensive competitive power, and Beijing should turn itself into a culture metropolis and a platform for Chinese culture to go global, he said.

Contact the writer at zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn