China's cultural industry is becoming more and more "international"

Source: Overseas Network

On August 8, the 6th Global Cross-border E-commerce Conference was held in Zhengzhou for three days. More than 200 domestic and foreign enterprises such as Wal-Mart, Google, SF, and the Import and Export Center of the Russian Federation participated in the exhibition, and more than 10,000 kinds of imported goods were exhibited on the spot. The picture shows the cross-border e-commerce live broadcast exhibition area of the E Trade Expo and Trading Center in Zhengzhou Economic Development Zone, where Chinese and foreign anchors introduce the cultural and creative products of the Henan Museum to overseas audiences through TikTok. Photo by Zhang Tao (People's Photo)

According to data released by China's Ministry of Commerce a few days ago, in 2021, China's foreign cultural trade exceeded 200 billion US dollars for the first time, an increase of 38.7% year-on-year. Among them, the import and export volume of cultural products was 155.81 billion US dollars, an increase of 43.4%; The import and export volume of cultural services was US$44.22 billion, an increase of 24.3%.

Foreign media generally noted that the international influence of China's cultural industry has steadily increased in recent years, not only China's high-quality film and television dramas, online literature, online games, animation and other cultural products have gained a large number of fans overseas, But also Chinese cultural and creative services, digital art standards, etc. have also strongly "gone to sea" and won world recognition. The government and enterprises work together to make China's cultural industry more and more "international".

Overseas "circle powder" of cultural products

Chinese TV dramas frequently spread the good news of "going to sea". Last year, "Mountains and Seas" was broadcast in more than 50 countries around the world, and the English subtitle version was launched on the overseas video platform YouTube, and the first episode has exceeded 1.5 million views, ranking first among the dramas launched on the platform in the same period. In March this year, the Chinese TV series "Human World" was pre-purchased by the American Walt Disney Company for exclusive overseas distribution rights; In April, the domestic suspense drama "Beginning" announced that it would land on the US video website Netflix and launch singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and other countries; In July, the military TV series "Ace Troops" was scheduled for Japanese television prime time.

"The beautifully embroidered Hanfu in Chinese TV dramas is fascinating!" The US digital media BuzzFeed website said that Netflix has recently launched a large number of Chinese TV dramas, where viewers can travel for hours, enjoy Chinese costume dramas with exquisite costumes and makeup, and learn about Chinese folklore and martial arts stories.

"Vietnamese netizens favor Chinese TV shows." Vietnamese media VnExpress said that from the search data of Vietnamese netizens, Chinese TV dramas show an "overwhelming advantage". In the top 10 of the 2020 TV series hot search list, Chinese TV dramas occupy 6 seats.

Online literature is another important business card for China's cultural industry to "go global". According to the "Report on the International Dissemination of Chinese Online Literature" released by the China Writers Association, as of 2020, China's online literature has exported more than 10,000 works overseas, of which more than 4,000 physical books have been authorized and more than 3,000 works have been translated online. The number of websites and APP users represented by Starting Point International exceeds 100 million, covering most countries and regions in the world.

"Chinese online novels are very popular in South Korea." South Korea's "East Asia Daily" reported that on the three major online novel platforms in South Korea, Naver, Kakao Page and Moonpia, many Chinese online novels ranked high in downloads, and the number of readers increased steadily. "The charm of Chinese online novels lies in the expansive worldview, the cultural narrative familiar to Korean readers, and the magnificent oriental fantasy colors. Chinese web novels have been adapted into Korean TV dramas. ”

Digital content is a global hit

Digital creative content such as Chinese animation and mobile games has shown strong global competitiveness in recent years.

According to the British film magazine Screen International website, Chinese animated feature films have made significant progress in the international market, and a large number of animated films for international audiences are being produced, many of which demonstrate China's growing animation skills. In 2019, "White Snake: Origins" produced by Chasing Light Animation not only achieved an impressive $65 million at the box office in China, but also was selected for the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France. Previously, few Chinese films could enter the competition section of the world's most prestigious animation festival.

The British "Guardian" published a film review of the Chinese animation "Bear Haunting: Return to Earth" and said that Chinese animation blockbusters contain many traditional comedy elements, but they are still interesting. Recently, a number of films with Chinese cultural overtones have emerged in the global animation industry, which may promote the future animation trend to "turn to the East".

"Games will become a new channel for China to enhance its cultural soft power." Bloomberg said in a post that after the strong operation of Chinese Internet companies such as Tencent, China occupies an important position in the field of global online games.

According to a report released by Us market research firm Sensor Tower, in July, a total of 39 Chinese companies entered the top 100 list of global mobile game publishers by revenue. Together, these companies generated more than $2.03 billion in revenue, accounting for nearly 38.1% of the total revenue of the top 100 developers. In the first half of this year, a total of 23 Chinese mobile games entered the top 100 best-seller lists in the US market, with a total revenue of 1.41 billion US dollars, accounting for 20.6% of the total revenue of the top 100 games, of which the game "Original God" developed by Mihayou Company ranked first in the US game market revenue list with a revenue of 140 million US dollars.

Chinese social entertainment applications have played a big role overseas, and they have also made the world understand the modern Chinese way of life. According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, a number of Chinese social software have swept the overseas market in recent years, and some applications have more than 100 million users overseas. Beijing Kunlun Wanwei's online karaoke software StarMaker maintains a leading position in Southeast Asia, North Africa and the Middle East; Huanju Group carries out BIGO LIVE business in more than 150 countries and regions around the world, focusing on live broadcasting; Yala, a voice social platform operated by Yale Group, is increasingly used in the Middle East. These social software are focused overseas and continue to expand.

In addition to digital cultural products, a number of digital cultural industry standards led by China have been frequently recognized internationally.

In 2019, the International Telecommunication Union approved the standard "Application Scenarios, Frameworks and Metadata for Digital Artwork Display Systems". This is another international standard for the digital culture industry that China independently originated and led the formulation of after the international standard of mobile phone (mobile terminal) animation.

The Times of Israel reported that China has adopted a state-led strategy to promote the development of international standards in the digital field, increasing its global influence. In 2021 alone, the International Telecommunication Union adopted 145 international standards led by China, far higher than other countries. At present, China is promoting the construction of the "Digital Silk Road" and promoting the formulation of international rules and standards in the field of digital trade.

Government and enterprises to force strong "going to sea"

China's Ministry of Commerce and 27 other departments recently jointly issued the "Opinions on Promoting the High-quality Development of Foreign Cultural Trade", proposing 28 specific tasks and measures such as vigorously developing digital cultural trade, improving the cultural trade cooperation mechanism, and improving the level of facilitation to promote the growth of the scale and structural optimization of China's foreign cultural trade. This is another important guiding document in the field of China's foreign cultural trade after the State Council of the People's Republic of China issued the Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Foreign Cultural Trade in 2014.

The US "Diplomacy" magazine recently published an article saying that compared with other countries, China's approach to enhancing "soft power" is very pragmatic, with the aim of enhancing cultural and commercial attractiveness. China's approach resonates in developing countries.

In response to the problem of "cultural discounts" in the overseas dissemination of cultural products, China's radio and television departments have launched a number of initiatives. Key projects such as the "Silk Road Film and Television Bridge", "Chinese Contemporary Works Translation Project" and "China-Africa Audiovisual Cooperation Innovation and Upgrading Project" have effectively helped the dissemination of domestic film and television works to break through language barriers and cultural barriers, so that culture "goes to sea" more smoothly.

"Compared with other film and television formats, Chinese animation can be dubbed into multiple languages, so it is easier to enter the international market." The British film magazine Screen International website reported. "There are many ambitious players in the Chinese animation industry who are making efforts, and China's animation industry is bound to continue to grow."

A number of foreign media have noted that in the process of Chinese culture 'going to sea', the role of a number of representative cultural enterprises cannot be underestimated.

The British "Times" reported that Chinese companies provide TV audio-visual services for audiences on the African continent, which has promoted the spread of Chinese film and television dramas in Africa. Take the Chinese company Star Times, which has been in the broadcast tv business in Africa for 20 years and has 12 million digital TV subscribers and 20 million mobile subscribers in more than 30 African countries, including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and South Africa. Its TV channels broadcast kung fu movies and Chinese costume dramas that are widely popular with African audiences.

According to Forbes Chinese Network, Chinese online fantasy novels are going global. Since 2015, the overseas market for Chinese online literature has flourished, with companies such as The Reading Group playing a role. Unlike the Kindle in the United States, which focuses on digital editions of books, Reading Group "owns the entire virtual field", and its main business includes online reading, IP film and television adaptation, etc.

According to Reuters, Chinese film and television platform iQiyi is making efforts in Southeast Asia. Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore are the company's fastest-growing markets, with users in the region growing 12-fold in 2020. Meanwhile, other Chinese companies such as Tencent also have plans to expand in Southeast Asian markets, with Tencent's WeTV acquiring Malaysian streaming platform Iflix. At present, Southeast Asia has become one of the regions with the largest consumption of entertainment content in China. (Reporter Lin Zihan)

People's Daily Overseas Edition ( 2022-08-15 Edition 10)