Senior official dreams of "movie power"

BEIJING, July 8 -- A senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has pledged to promote China's film industry and build the country into a "movie power."

Liu Qibao, head of publicity for the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks at a national film workshop on Tuesday.

"Film should take the people as its center and socialist core values as its guide," Liu said, urging film makers to make movies with both social benefits and commercial success, giving priority to the former.

"China's film development is on the fast track," the official said.

The Chinese dream is an important theme, Liu said, calling for more films to tell stories about Chinese people's pursuit of their dreams and their delight in realizing them.

He also urged more diverse subjects and creative ideas in film, with more Chinese culture in films and better use of modern technology.

China's box office revenue neared 21.8 billion yuan (about 3.5 billion U.S. dollars) in 2013. Domestic films led the annual charts, accounting for 58.7 percent of mainland box office earnings.