BEIJING - Hu Jintao, chief of the Communist Party of China (CPC), has expressed hope that non-Communist parties and people of influence contribute more to the country's cultural development and soft power building.

Hu, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks at a recent seminar to solicit non-Communist parties' opinions on the CPC Central Committee's decision on deepening cultural system reform and promoting cultural development.

Hu said he hopes that workers in cultural field from non-Communist parties can be mobilized to contribute their wisdom and strength to building China into a strong nation in terms of the influence of its culture, according to an official statement issued Wednesday at the seminar.

"The new and greater achievements of socialist China and the Chinese nation require joint efforts from the CPC, the non-Communist parties and people of various ethnic groups," Hu said.

Non-Communist parties and people of influence are urged to follow the development trend of socialist advanced culture and to inspire their members to deepen their research on cultural reform and development and offer more suggestions in this regard.

According to the statement, leaders of non-Communist parties, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and people of influence without party affiliation, at the seminar expressed their support with the CPC's decision on boosting cultural reform and development.

Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun and Xi Jinping, members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, were present at the seminar.