A senior official on Sunday called for boosting China's cultural "soft power" to provide a strong driving force for the nation's rise.

Liu Yunshan, head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the appeal during a visit to central China's Henan Province from April 6 to 8.

"The first two decades of this century is a critical strategical period for China's cultural development, and we should seize this opportunity to greatly improve the country's cultural 'soft power'," said Liu, who is also a member of the Political Bureau and the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee.

To improve cultural "soft power", he said, China should maintain its cultural liveliness by promoting innovation, drawing useful foreign experience, while preserving traditional cultural heritage as well.