KUNMING, April 23 -- The third National Conference on Reading opened on Tuesday in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province.

Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, attended the opening and delivered a speech.

Guests at the conference stressed the importance of promoting nationwide reading to help sustain and pass on civilization, strengthen cultural confidence, and promote the creative transformation and development of Chinese culture.

Efforts should also be made to boost the development of the publishing industry, advocate paper reading and in-depth reading, and develop new forms of business related to digital publishing and reading, according to the guests.

With a theme that literally translates to "building a book-loving society and sharing modern civilization," the conference will feature a series of events including reading promotion campaigns and themed releases to further cultivate reading habits across society.