China must promote its cultural  industry

       BEIJING, Dec. 12 — Judging from the rules and trends of social economic development, the cultural industry shows the biggest potential in the 21st century.
        The Intergovernmental Conference on Cultural Policies for Development was held in Stockholm in 1998 and the Action Plan on Cultural Policies for Development was approved. The plan recognizes the principle that development can be ultimately defined in cultural terms and the flourishing of culture is the highest end of development.

       The changes in the international economic structure accurately reflect the rapid advancement of social productivity. Especially since the 1980s, the world’s economy has achieved essential transitions almost every decade. The economy focused on manufacturing in the 1980s while the service and telecommunication industries gained rapid growth in the 1990s. The 21st century, no doubt, belongs to the cultural industry.

        The emergence and boom of the knowledge industry has led to the creation of the quaternary industry theory, which further divides intellectual work from physical labor. Industries based on brainwork or knowledge are called the quaternary industry. And thus the concept of the cultural industry emerged and gradually matured.

        In the 40 years since the theory of the quaternary industry came into being to the end of the last century, the United States had experienced three major adjustments to its industrial structure, enhancing the cultural industry each time. Leaving all other countries far behind, the US became a cultural industry superpower.

        Chinese scholars became aware of the cultural industry theory only less than two decades ago. Until today it is difficult to say whether we have really changed our traditional mode of thinking and realize the significance of the cultural industry.

       The industry is the one responsible for the production and marketing of cultural products with creative ideas as its core. China formally defined in 2004 the concept of the industry as a collection of activities to provide the public with cultural and entertainment products and services.

        It is noteworthy that there are always disputes about how to define the cultural industry or the creative industry in the international community. But consensus has been reached on the significance and vital status of the cultural industry in the process of economic globalization in the 21st century.

        Statistics by the United Nations show that the growth rate of the global market on the whole is about 3 percent while that of the cultural industry is 6 percent. The cultural industry based on knowledge and creativity features relatively low input but high added value and efficiency compared with traditional industries. It also has strong sustainability with low resource consumption and little damage to the environment.

       Overall, as humans solve the problems of food and other basic necessities as their incomes increase, the cultural industry has become a promising sector that fits people’s spiritual needs. It is a general trend for international communities to develop their cultural industries.

        The cultural industry in the US contributes about a quarter of the country’s total GDP, second only to its war industry. New York city alone makes $20 billion out of the cultural industry annually. The first two installments of the Godfather movie series alone earned more than $800 million at the international box-office, which allows us to realize that movies are the biggest factories. The movie, Titanic, surpassed $1.8 billion in global box-office receipts and produced another $1.8 billion in revenue from spin-offs. Just calculate how much resources and labor we will need to produce $3.6 billion worth of clothes or furniture.

        Japan comes after the US with its cultural industry surpassing its electronic and auto industries. The Japanese animation industry occupies 62 percent of the world’s market and its games industry has one-third of the market share. The Republic of Korea made it a national policy to develop its cultural industry in 1998 and then targeted the Chinese market. It once occupied 75 percent of China’s games market. These numbers are really alarming.

        The Chinese cultural industry is facing a grave situation in such a world trend. China’s cultural industry only comprises about 3 percent of the country’s GDP. As Chinese people’s cultural demands increase with rising incomes the cultural products we supply do not meet market demand.

        Against the backdrop of continuous trade surpluses, the cultural industry faces a drastic imbalance. Take the book trade for example, China’s ratio with the West is 1:100. More than 285 Russian artistic groups performed in China from 1999 to 2002 while only 30 Chinese groups went to Russia.

         From 2000 to 2004 China imported 4,332 movies while less than 100 were exported. This is an embarrassing fact for a country with more than 5,000 years of history, culture and civilization.

         The competition in the international cultural industry will further intensify. We do not have a choice, we must be able to compete. A country without modern cultural accomplishments and influences will not be respected, no matter how vigorous its economy is.

        We have to update our economic thinking and be vigilant against the lopsided concept that stresses economic growth while paying little regard to the cultural industry.