Providing Institutional Support for Building a Culturally Strong Country

Institutional development is a long-term strategy and a fundamental measure. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC [1]1 The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC was held in July 2024, focusing on further deepening reform comprehensively. took “adhering to the main line of institutional development” as one of the principles for further deepening reform comprehensively. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, “Institutions are fundamental, overarching, stable, and long-term issues concerning the development of the Party and the state.” [2]2 This is a quotation from Xi Jinping’s speech at the second collective study session of the 18th Politburo in December 2012. Institutional development in the cultural sphere is an important institutional arrangement for regulating cultural order, guiding cultural governance, and adjusting cultural life. It plays a leading role, like pulling up a net by its main rope, in coordinating the elements of cultural development and promoting synergy across various fields. Strengthening the institutional development of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics is not only an important guarantee for enhancing China’s cultural soft power in the New Era but also an inevitable choice for boosting the construction of a culturally strong country and national rejuvenation.

制度建设是长远之策、根本之举。党的二十届三中全会将“坚持以制度建设为主线”作为进一步全面深化改革的原则之一。习近平总书记指出，“制度是关系党和国家事业发展的根本性、全局性、稳定性、长期性问题”。文化领域的制度建设是规范文化秩序、引导文化治理、调节文化生活的重要制度安排，在统筹文化发展要素、促进各领域协同联动中发挥着纲举目张的主导作用。加强中国特色社会主义文化制度建设，既是增强新时代中国文化软实力的重要保障，更是助推文化强国建设和民族复兴的必然选择。

1. Leveraging the Advantages of Cultural Institutions to Strengthen Ideological Guidance

1.发挥文化制度优势，强化思想引领

Institutional advantage is the greatest advantage of a country. Cultural institutions play an important role in consolidating the dominant position of ideology and promoting the universal sharing of public cultural services. They are not only related to the stability and development of the national cultural identity system but also profoundly affect the sense of gain and satisfaction of the people’s spiritual life. To this end, we should fully leverage the advantages of China’s cultural institutions to provide a strong organizational guarantee, a powerful spiritual force, and favorable cultural conditions for building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation.

制度优势是一个国家最大的优势。文化制度在巩固意识形态主导地位与推动公共文化服务普惠共享方面发挥着重要作用，不仅关涉国家文化认同体系的稳固与发展，也深刻影响着人民群众精神生活的获得感与满意度。为此，应充分发挥我国文化制度优势，为强国建设、民族复兴提供坚强组织保证、强大精神力量、有利文化条件。

Improve the system of the Party’s overall leadership over propaganda, ideology, and cultural work. The leadership of the Communist Party of China is the greatest advantage of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics. Only by implementing Party leadership in all areas, aspects, and links of national governance can the advantages of the system be better realized. In the field of cultural construction, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core creatively proposed upholding the Party’s cultural leadership and strengthening the Party’s leadership over propaganda, ideology, and cultural work. Upholding the Party’s cultural leadership provides direction and political guarantees for building a culturally strong country, effectively coordinating the complex interest relationships in the reform of the cultural system and mechanism; in turn, the practice of building a socialist culturally strong country can continuously strengthen and consolidate the Party’s cultural leadership and promote the enrichment and development of its connotation.

完善党对宣传思想文化工作的全面领导制度。中国共产党的领导是中国特色社会主义制度的最大优势，只有把党的领导落实到国家治理各领域、各方面、各环节，才能更好发挥制度优势。在文化建设领域，以习近平同志为核心的党中央创造性提出坚持党的文化领导权，加强党对宣传思想文化工作的领导。坚持党的文化领导权为文化强国建设提供方向引领和政治保证，有效协调文化体制机制改革中的复杂利益关系；而社会主义文化强国建设实践又能够不断加强和巩固党的文化领导权，并促进其内涵的丰富和发展。

Adhere to the fundamental institution of Marxism’s guiding position in the ideological sphere. The mainstream ideology of a society depends on the dominant relations of ownership. China’s dominant position of public ownership, the state system of people’s democratic dictatorship, and the ruling status of the Communist Party all determine the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological sphere. This constitutes the theoretical foundation and practical guide for building the Party and the state and for rejuvenating the Party and the state, running through the entire process of the development of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. Only by adhering to the guidance of Marxism can we, in the complex and changeable field of public opinion, always maintain political resolve, strengthen theoretical consciousness, and enhance public opinion guidance, thereby achieving the consolidation and development of mainstream ideology and forming a unified value identity and spiritual bond for the whole society.

坚持马克思主义在意识形态领域指导地位的根本制度。一个社会的主流意识形态取决于占统治地位的所有制关系，我国公有制的主体地位、人民民主专政的国体、共产党的执政地位都决定了马克思主义在意识形态领域的指导地位。而这构成我们立党立国、兴党兴国的理论基础与实践指南，贯穿新时代中国特色社会主义文化发展的全过程。只有坚持以马克思主义为统领，才能在复杂多变的舆论场域中，始终保持政治定力、强化理论自觉、提升舆论引导，从而实现主流意识形态的巩固与发展，形成全社会统一的价值认同和精神纽带。

Improve the system for safeguarding the cultural rights and interests of the people. The sound development of the public cultural service system is the institutional foundation for guaranteeing the basic cultural rights and interests of the people and achieving cultural equity and sharing. Public cultural services should focus not only on the breadth of coverage, taking urban-rural integration as the guide, establishing institutional mechanisms for high-quality cultural resources to directly reach the grassroots, optimizing the structure of resource allocation, strengthening the construction of rural cultural infrastructure, and expanding the total supply of public cultural services; but also on improving service quality. Under the guidance of the goal of high-quality development, policy documents should be issued to promote the prosperity and development of socialist culture, driving the transformation of public cultural services from “having” to “excellent,” so that the fruits of cultural development benefit all the people more fairly and effectively.

健全人民文化权益保障制度。公共文化服务体系的健全发展是保障人民基本文化权益，实现文化公平与共享的制度基础。公共文化服务既要注重覆盖的广度，以城乡一体化为导向，构建优质文化资源直达基层的制度机制，优化资源配置结构，强化农村文化基础设施建设，扩大公共文化服务总量供给；也要注重提升服务质量，在高质量发展目标引领下，出台繁荣发展社会主义文化的政策文件，推动公共文化服务从“有”向“优”的转变，使文化发展成果更加公平、更加有效地惠及全体人民。

2. Stimulating the Vitality of Cultural Institutions to Foster Development Momentum

2.激发文化制度活力，厚植发展动能

Stimulating the vitality of cultural institutions is the driving force for advancing the construction of a culturally strong country. Currently, China is in a critical stage of transitioning from a large cultural country to a culturally strong country. It is necessary to further activate the potential of cultural institutions and stimulate their vitality. Taking the improvement of top-level institutional design as the guide, deepening the reform of systems and mechanisms as the breakthrough, and enhancing institutional innovation as the driving force will help accurately grasp the laws of cultural construction in the New Era and promote the high-quality development of cultural undertakings and cultural industries.

激发文化制度活力是推进文化强国建设的动力源泉。当前，我国正处于从文化大国迈向文化强国的关键阶段，需要进一步激活文化制度潜能、激发文化制度活力。以提升制度顶层设计为先导、以深化体制机制改革为突破、以增强制度创新为驱动，有助于准确把握新时代文化建设规律，推动文化事业和文化产业高质量发展。

Strengthen theoretical guidance and enhance the top-level design capability of cultural institutions. Building a culturally strong country requires the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture [3]3 Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is a component of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, formally articulated at a national conference on propaganda, ideology, and cultural work in October 2023., continuously improving the laws, regulations, and policy systems covering ideological guidance, value system shaping, cultural supply optimization, rights and interests protection improvement, public opinion governance strengthening, and international communication expansion. This will promote the transformation of the cultural institutional system from structural adjustment to systematic construction, making the institutional foundation for building a culturally strong country more standardized and systematic.

强化理论引导，提升文化制度顶层设计能力。建设文化强国需要以习近平文化思想为指引，不断健全覆盖意识形态引导、价值体系塑造、文化供给优化、权益保障完善、舆论治理加强、国际传播拓展等方面的法律法规和政策体系，推动文化制度体系由结构性调整迈向系统性建构，助推文化强国建设的制度基础更加规范化、系统化。

Highlight problem awareness and deepen the reform of the cultural system and mechanism. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, “Properly grasp the relationship between ideological attributes and industrial attributes, and between social benefits and economic benefits, always adhere to the forward direction of advanced socialist culture, and always put social benefits first.” [4]4 This is a quotation from Xi Jinping’s speech at a forum on literature and art in October 2014. Against the backdrop of profound changes in the global landscape and drastic evolution of the conditions of the times, the reform of the cultural system and mechanism must adhere to a problem-oriented approach, focus on obstacles to cultural development, and properly address the governance complexity arising from cultural products possessing both ideological and market attributes. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC put forward the major task of “deepening the reform of the cultural system and mechanism.” On the new journey of deepening the reform of the cultural system and mechanism, efforts should be made to enhance the Party’s dominance and discourse power in the ideological sphere, fully implement the principles of the Party managing propaganda, the Party managing ideology, and the Party managing media, achieve vertical integration and horizontal linkage, and continuously stimulate the momentum for cultural innovation and creation while releasing the vitality of the system and mechanism.

突出问题意识，深化文化体制机制改革。习近平总书记指出，“把握好意识形态属性和产业属性、社会效益和经济效益的关系，始终坚持社会主义先进文化前进方向，始终把社会效益放在首位”。在全球格局深刻变动、时代条件剧烈演化的背景下，文化体制机制改革必须坚持问题导向，聚焦文化发展障碍，妥善应对文化产品兼具意识形态属性与市场属性所导致的治理复杂性。党的二十届三中全会提出了“深化文化体制机制改革”的重大任务。新征程上深化文化体制机制改革，应着力增强党在意识形态领域的主导权、话语权，全面落实党管宣传、党管意识形态、党管媒体，实现上下贯通、横向联动，在释放体制机制活力的同时持续激发文化创新创造动能。

Adhere to a strategic orientation and enhance the leading role of cultural institutional innovation. On the new journey, we should keep in mind the “two overall situations” [5]5 The “two overall situations” refer to the overall situation of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the overall situation of changes unseen in a century., remember the “greatest concerns of the state” [6]6 The “greatest concerns of the state” (国之大者) is a Party term referring to the most fundamental and strategic issues concerning the Party and the country., and integrate cultural institutional innovation organically into the overall strategy of the Party and the state’s development with holistic thinking, forward-looking vision, and historical perspective. Accurately grasp the key links where cultural institutional innovation serves the national strategy, clarify the people’s stance and goal orientation of cultural institutional innovation, strengthen the supporting role of institutions for the high-quality development of socialist cultural undertakings and cultural industries, and provide institutional guarantees for effectively undertaking the cultural mission of the New Era. At the same time, coordinate current innovation measures with long-term institutional arrangements, consolidate the foundation of cultural institutions, and strengthen the reserve of cultural talents.

坚持战略导向，增强文化制度创新的引领力。新征程上，应胸怀“两个大局”，牢记“国之大者”，以全局性思维、前瞻性视野、历史性眼光，将文化制度创新有机融入党和国家事业发展总体战略中。精准把握文化制度创新服务国家战略的关键环节，明确文化制度创新的人民立场与目标指向，强化制度对社会主义文化事业和文化产业高质量发展的支撑作用，为切实担负起新时代的文化使命提供制度保障。同时，统筹谋划当前创新举措与长远制度安排，夯实文化制度根基、加强文化人才储备。

3. Improving the Cultural Institutional System to Enhance Governance Effectiveness

3.完善文化制度体系，增强治理效能

A well-established cultural institutional system is an important guarantee for advancing the construction of a culturally strong country. Facing practical challenges such as the fragmentation of cultural heritage protection work, frequent chaos in the online cultural space, an increasingly severe international public opinion environment, and the need to improve the level of coordination in international communication work, we should closely focus on the main line of institutional development, grasp the key points of cultural development, ensure that the cultural governance system and governance capacity can meet the needs of the times, and provide a solid institutional foundation for promoting the construction of a culturally strong country.

完善的文化制度体系是推进文化强国建设的重要保证。面对文化遗产保护工作碎片化、网络文化空间乱象频发、国际舆论环境日益严峻、国际传播工作协同配合水平有待提升等现实挑战，应紧紧围绕制度建设这条主线，把握好文化发展着力点，确保文化治理体系与治理能力能够满足时代需求，为推动文化强国建设提供坚实的制度基础。

Establish a cultural heritage protection and inheritance system to promote the excellent traditional Chinese culture. The key to achieving effective protection and sustainable inheritance of cultural heritage lies in the multi-dimensional synergy of concept renewal, technological support, and disciplinary construction. To this end, we should adhere to the value orientation of protection first and inheritance priority, build a large protection pattern featuring overall coordination and regional linkage, and achieve inheritance on the basis of protecting integrity and authenticity; deepen the empowerment of science and technology, promote the integrated application of multiple disciplines such as archaeology, materials science, and digital technology, and provide strong technical support for risk monitoring, structural protection, and digital reproduction of cultural heritage; construct a disciplinary system for cultural heritage studies, strengthen the coordinated development of theoretical innovation and practical ability, and promote the protection of cultural heritage towards scientific governance and institutional governance.

建立文化遗产保护传承体系，弘扬中华优秀传统文化。实现文化遗产的有效保护与永续传承，关键在于理念更新、科技支撑与学科建构的多维协同。为此，应坚持保护第一、传承优先的价值导向，构建统筹协调、区域联动的大保护格局，在保护完整性与原真性的基础上实现传承；深化科技赋能，推动考古学、材料科学、数字技术等多学科融合应用，为文化遗产的风险监测、结构保护与数字化再现提供强有力技术支撑；构建文化遗产学学科体系，强化理论创新与实践能力协同发展，推动文化遗产保护工作走向科学治理、制度治理。

Improve the comprehensive cyberspace governance system to form a standardized and orderly online cultural space. Improving the comprehensive cyberspace governance system is an important part of advancing the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity. We should focus on key areas and cutting-edge technologies, accelerate the improvement of the online rule of law framework, and ensure the orderly development of cyberspace through legal means; build a scientific and efficient mechanism for public opinion analysis and guidance, start from the resonance points of social emotions and the points of resolving contradictions, enhance the precision and effectiveness of online public opinion guidance, and strengthen the guiding power of online public opinion responses; improve the online protection system for minors, enhance the digital literacy and risk prevention capabilities of young people, and create a safe and civilized online ecosystem.

健全网络综合治理体系，形成规范有序的网络文化空间。健全网络综合治理体系是推进国家治理体系和治理能力现代化的重要内容。应聚焦重点领域与前沿技术，加快完善网络法治框架，以法治手段保障网络空间有序发展；构建科学高效的舆情分析与引导机制，从社会情绪共鸣点与矛盾化解点切入，提升网络舆论引导的精准性与实效性，增强网络舆情回应的引导力；健全未成年人网络保护制度，提升青少年的数字素养与风险防范能力，营造安全文明的网络生态。

Build a cultural security system and fortify the cultural security barrier. Cultural security is an important component of national security. At present, national cultural security faces many challenges. Internationally, global cultural competition is becoming increasingly fierce, and the ideological infiltration and value input of Western hostile forces pose a threat to China’s cultural security. Domestically, the pressure to govern the online cultural space is increasing, and cultural identity and value consensus face new risks. In this situation, it is necessary both to remain constantly vigilant against the interference and erosion of external erroneous trends of thought, and to continuously strengthen education in ideals and convictions, to flourish and develop cultural undertakings and cultural industries, and to enhance the communication power and influence of Chinese civilization, thereby effectively safeguarding national cultural security.

建设文化安全制度体系，筑牢文化安全屏障。文化安全是国家安全的重要组成部分。当前，国家文化安全面临诸多挑战。从国际来看，全球文化竞争日趋激烈，西方敌对势力的意识形态渗透与价值观输入对我国文化安全构成威胁；从国内来看，网络文化空间治理压力加大，文化认同与价值共识面临新风险。在此境遇中，既要时刻警惕外部错误思潮的干扰侵蚀，又要不断加强理想信念教育、繁荣发展文化事业和文化产业、增强中华文明的传播力影响力，切实维护国家文化安全。

Build a more effective international communication system and enhance the country’s cultural soft power. Facing the profound reshaping of the global communication landscape, the construction of an international communication system requires the coordinated advancement of the narrative system and the discourse system. On the one hand, conforming to the development trend of media convergence, build an integrated communication mechanism with function orientation as the core and communication effectiveness as the standard, promote the deep integration of traditional media and emerging media, and construct a diversified, synergistic, and efficient three-dimensional international communication matrix. On the other hand, take root in China, integrate Chinese and foreign elements, refine new concepts and new expressions that can embody Chinese values and convey Chinese wisdom, enhance our country’s discourse guidance and narrative dominance, expand exchanges around issues such as global development and security governance within a broader framework of civilizational exchange, promote the institutionalized construction of multilateral people-to-people cooperation mechanisms, and provide institutional support for enhancing the country’s cultural soft power and global communication effectiveness.

构建更有效力的国际传播体系，增强国家文化软实力。面对全球传播格局的深度重塑，国际传播体系的构建需统筹推进叙事体系与话语体系的协同建设。一方面，顺应媒体融合发展趋势，构建以功能导向为核心、以传播实效为标准的融合传播机制，推动传统媒体与新兴媒体深度融合，构建结构多元、协同高效的立体化国际传播矩阵。另一方面，扎根中国、融通中外，提炼能够体现中国价值、传达中国智慧的新概念新表述，增强我国的话语引导力与叙事主导权，在更广阔的文明交流框架下，围绕全球发展、安全治理等议题扩大交流，推动多边人文合作机制的制度化构建，为提升国家文化软实力与全球传播效能提供制度支持。

4. Consolidate the institutional guarantee for culture and expand the path to prosperity

4.夯实文化制度保障，拓展繁荣路径

At present, information technology is developing with each passing day, the pattern of cultural governance is becoming more complex, and the environment for cultural development is undergoing profound reshaping. Only by consolidating the institutional guarantee for culture through methods such as strengthening the foundation of the rule of law, perfecting market mechanisms, and enhancing technological support can we adhere to cultural subjectivity amidst the global cultural turbulence and continuously expand the path of cultural development.

当前，信息技术发展日新月异、文化治理格局愈加复杂，文化发展环境正经历深刻重塑。只有通过筑牢法治根基、完善市场机制、提升技术支撑等方式夯实文化制度保障，才能在世界文化激荡中坚守文化主体性，不断拓展文化发展道路。

Improve cultural legislation and consolidate the legal foundation for a culturally strong country. On the one hand, strengthen the top-level design of national cultural legislation, innovate legislative practices with local characteristics, form a multi-level, three-dimensional pattern of cultural rule of law, improve the mechanisms for “delegating power, improving regulation, and upgrading services” [7]7 “Delegating power, improving regulation, and upgrading services” (放管服) is a policy reform slogan referring to streamlining administration, delegating power to lower levels, improving regulation, and optimizing government services. in the cultural field, perfect the whole-process regulatory system, promote the institutionalization and legalization of cultural governance, and effectively safeguard the security of the cultural ecosystem. On the other hand, use judicial authority to escort cultural governance, serve the high-quality development of the cultural industry through judicial protection of intellectual property rights and the construction of a law-based business environment; rely on legal publicity, institutional supply, and typical guidance to cultivate a law-abiding culture, promote the spirit of the rule of law, integrate core socialist values into daily life and social governance, and make respecting and abiding by the law a consensus and code of conduct for the entire people.

完善文化立法，筑牢文化强国的法治基础。一方面，加强国家文化立法的顶层设计，创新地方特色的立法实践，形成多层次、立体化的文化法治格局，完善文化领域“放管服”机制，健全全过程监管体系，推动文化治理制度化、法治化，切实维护文化生态安全。另一方面，以司法权威护航文化治理，通过知识产权司法保护和法治化营商环境建设，服务文化产业高质量发展；依托法治宣传、制度供给和典型引领，培育守法文化，弘扬法治精神，将社会主义核心价值观融入日常生活与社会治理，让尊法守法成为全民共识与行为规范。

Optimize market supervision and improve the cultural industry and market system. Building a modern cultural industry system must be supported by a perfect cultural market system, enhancing the organic connection between cultural product production and market operation mechanisms. At present, we should accelerate the structural optimization and functional reconstruction of state-owned cultural enterprises, cultivate a group of backbone enterprises with market competitiveness, and enhance the overall efficiency of the industry. At the same time, deepen the reform of the administrative system in the cultural field, break down market access barriers, promote the formation of a fair, unified, open, reasonably ordered, and competitive modern cultural market pattern, and achieve high efficiency and fairness in the allocation of cultural resources. On this basis, improve the hierarchical and classified management system of the cultural market, promote the coordinated operation of comprehensive law enforcement mechanisms, and build a legalized, standardized, and efficient cultural market governance system, providing institutional guarantees for the healthy development of the modern cultural industry system.

优化市场监管，健全文化产业和市场体系。建设现代文化产业体系必须以完善的文化市场体系为支撑，增强文化产品生产与市场运行机制的有机衔接。当前，应加快推进国有文化企业的结构优化与功能重构，培育具有市场竞争力的骨干企业群体，提升产业整体效能。同时，深化文化领域行政体制改革，破除市场准入壁垒，推动形成公平统一开放、合理有序竞争的现代文化市场格局，实现文化资源配置的高效率与公平性。在此基础上，完善文化市场分级分类管理制度，推动综合执法机制协同运行，构建法治化、规范化、高效化的文化市场治理体系，为现代文化产业体系的健康发展提供制度保障。

Promote technological empowerment and enhance the technical support for cultural governance. On the one hand, build a security guarantee mechanism covering the entire process of cultural data collection, transmission, storage, and utilization. By protecting digital intellectual property rights, establishing standardized management norms for digital cultural products, and deploying privacy computing and encryption technologies, ensure that cultural data is legal, secure, and controllable. On the other hand, explore effective mechanisms for the integration of culture and technology, focus on the themes of the times, innovate communication methods, accelerate the construction of an open and shared digital cultural ecosystem, expand the depth and breadth of cultural external communication, transform cultural resource advantages into cultural development advantages, and continuously enhance our country’s cultural influence and international discourse power.

推动技术赋能，增强文化治理的技术支撑。一方面，构建覆盖文化数据采集、传输、存储、利用全过程的安全保障机制。通过保护数字知识产权、建立标准化的数字文化产品管理规范，部署隐私计算与加密技术，保障文化数据合法、安全、可控。另一方面，探索文化和科技融合的有效机制，聚焦时代主题、创新传播方式，加快构建开放共享的数字文化生态体系，拓展文化对外传播的深度与广度，把文化资源优势转化为文化发展优势，不断增强我国的文化影响力与国际话语权。

(Author: Wang Zengfu, Researcher at the Shandong Provincial Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Dean and Professor of the School of Marxism at Shandong Normal University)

（作者：王增福，系山东省习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想研究中心研究员，山东师范大学马克思主义学院院长、教授）

Online Editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧