CHINESE President Xi Jinping warned a symposium of the country’s leading writers and artists today not to “lose themselves” in service of the market.

The Communist Party general secretary said there was a danger that authors, painters, scriptwriters and broadcasters could become “slaves” to commercial interests because of China’s toleration of private enterprise in major sectors of its economy.

“Artists must not go astray when asking who to serve,” he said.

“Socialist culture and art is in essence the culture and art of the people. Common people are the connoisseurs of literature and art and should be the main subject of artistic works.”

He added that serving “the socialist cause is essential for the future development of the cultural sector.”

The ideologically charged speech echoed People’s Republic founder Mao Zedong’s famous Yan’an speech On Literature and Art, which argued that “working-class literature and art are part of the working-class revolutionary cause.”