Senior Chinese official Li Changchun underlined the importance of promoting China's soft power and improving the country's overall strength during his recent tour of northeast China's Jilin Province.

Li, a Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, called for efforts to press ahead with reforms in the cultural sector and championed cultural innovation in China's modernization drive.

During his five-day tour of the province that ended on Monday, Li visited farmers, high-tech companies, urban communities and rural centers for cultural activities.

Jilin Province is usually considered the cradle of China's automotive industry and now is one of China's largest auto-manufacturing centers.

During his visit to a subsidiary of China's First Automobile Works (FAW) Group, Li called on FAW to embrace innovation in order to make breakthroughs in the production of homegrown new-energy automobiles.

When visiting rural cultural centers in the province, Li urged authorities in Jilin to make cultural activities more accessible to residents in grassroots communities and rural areas.