We have all heard of the famed BTS and Blackpink from South Korea or the popular anime shows from Japan. However, there hasn’t been much fame coming from the economic giant of China. China is the richest country in the world surpassing the US in the November of 2019. More than half of the world relies on China as its biggest importer. However, China has been quiet in the international entertainment industry.
The People’s Republic of China has the world’s largest population with almost 1.45 billion people in its territory as of early April of 2022. So there is no need to bring its entertainment outside its borders. On top of that, foreign investments are also generally banned on TV, radio, the internet, and new media. China is mainly a consumer of entertainment for its domestic market, not an exporter. Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu have film financing arms that have a strong presence in Hollywood and Bollywood and are financing movies. Their interest is in getting China distribution rights because the Chinese demand for quality entertainment is so huge. It is still early to think about exporting Chinese entertainment, but that will probably start in the next five years. One of the biggest problems they will face is that any export market outside China appears small, including the US.
In 2021, China’s entertainment and media market was estimated to be valued at about 359 billion U.S. dollars. However, the US’s entertainment industry was only valued at 221 billion U.S. dollars when it was originally estimated to reach 276 billion U.S. dollars. The pandemic had declined the worth of the entertainment industry in the U.S. by 36% but increased by 5% in China according to Statista (US Data) and Statsta (China Data). According to The Hollywood Report, they claim that China still holds the Box Office Crown with 7.3 billion U.S. dollars, down 26% from 2019.
In short, China stays silent in the international entertainment industry because it’s mainly a consumer of entertainment for its domestic market, not an exporter. China doesn’t need to export entertainment because it already has the biggest entertainment industry in the world. However many entertainment companies are trying to get Chinese distribution rights because the Chinese demand for quality entertainment is so huge. But that reality will still take time. Meanwhile, you can use a VPN or an online streaming site that will show Asian films. While China’s entertainment industry is hidden from the international market, its domestic market is thriving with entertainment.
By Caleb Lee, Foreign Politics Journalist, LORP News
Foreign Politics, Entertainment, Economics
