More efforts should be made to increase the influence and credibility of mainstream media to strengthen public support for building a strong country and achieve the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, senior officials and experts said on Wednesday.

China will continue to create a sound online environment and aim for higher levels of media integration, they said at the two-day 2023 China New Media Conference, organized by the All-China Journalists Association and Hunan provincial government, which opened on Wednesday in Changsha, Hunan province.

The conference is being held for the fifth time since 2018.

In the past 10 years, the media sector has expanded across platforms and created many influential products. China's stories have been better heard and understood because of online channels, they added.

Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, attended the conference and delivered the keynote address.

Du Zhanyuan, president of China International Communications Group, said the Chinese path to modernization includes rich stories and the new media sector should spread awareness about traditional Chinese culture and the development of modern Chinese society.

To spread China's story effectively, efforts should be made to tell the country's story from an international perspective that addresses common human values and emotions and is more acceptable to global audiences, he said.

Tian Yuhong, a senior official at the All-China Journalists Association, said the association has had friendly exchanges with the media communities in more than 100 countries and regions.

Through various events, the association has explained China's position and promoted Chinese culture to international journalists in China and media officials at foreign embassies in the country, to help them understand China's path and form correct views about the country, he said.

More than 800 representatives from the publicity departments, central and local governments, media outlets, websites, colleges, and research institutions attended the conference.