PROMOTING world peace and strengthening cultural soft power were on the agenda when 500 delegates from some 20 countries and regions gathered in Shanghai yesterday for the Third Annual Conference of the Taihu World Cultural Forum.

Among those gathered for the 2-day non-government organization event are politicians, academics, business leaders and media professionals.

China will give more attention to cultural development, which has already been made a national strategy, to boost its soft power, and expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges with other countries to open up larger room for reciprocal and win-win cooperation in the world, vice Premier Liu Yandong said as she delivered a speech at the opening ceremony.