BEIJING -- Xi Jinping on Sunday called for building cultural confidence and strength and securing new successes in developing socialist culture.

"To build a modern socialist country in all respects, we must develop a socialist culture with Chinese characteristics and be more confident in our culture," Xi said in a report at the opening session of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

In the efforts to turn China into a country with a strong socialist culture, the CPC will focus on upholding socialism with Chinese characteristics, rallying public support, fostering a new generation of young people, developing Chinese culture, and better presenting China to the world, he said.

The Party will develop a sound, people-oriented socialist culture for the nation that embraces modernization, the world, and the future, ignite the cultural creativity of the entire nation, and build a powerful source of inspiration for realizing national rejuvenation, Xi added.

"We should uphold the foundational system for ensuring the guiding role of Marxism in the ideological domain," he said, calling for continuously growing China's cultural soft power and the appeal of Chinese culture.

The report also stressed developing a socialist ideology that has the power to unite and inspire the people.

"Ideological work is about forging the character of a country and the soul of a nation," the report said. "We must ensure that the Party firmly exercises leadership over this work and that the responsibility system for it is fully implemented."

"We will cement and expand the mainstream thoughts and ideas that inspire hard work in the new era," according to the report. "We will improve the systems for communication across all forms of media and create a new environment of mainstream public opinion."

The report also urged extensively applying the core socialist values, enhancing civility throughout society as well as developing cultural programs and the cultural sector.

Calling for extending the reach and appeal of Chinese civilization, the report said the Party will accelerate the development of China's discourse and narrative systems, better tell China's stories, make China's voice heard, and present a China that is credible, appealing, and respectable.

"We will strengthen our international communication capabilities, make our communication more effective, and strive to strengthen China's voice in international affairs so it is commensurate with our composite national strength and international status," it said. "We will deepen exchanges and mutual learning with other civilizations and better present Chinese culture to the world."