The growing demand overseas for online audio-visual content from China was among the hot topics at a major communications event held recently in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.
Participants at the Internet Audio & Video International Communication Forum explored how Chinese and foreign media can further break down cultural barriers and strengthen their cooperation.
As part of the 10th China Online Audiovisual Conference in Chengdu, the forum included representatives from various online audiovisual platforms as well as media experts from China, Japan, Russia and other countries.
Yan Chengsheng, Director-General of the International Cooperation Department of China's National Radio and Television Administration, said that exports of online Chinese audiovisual content have been growing at a healthy clip. In 2022, they reached a new high, with the total export volume doubling year-on-year.
"We'll strive to provide audiences all over the world with videos of excellent content, and make due contributions to carrying forward the common values of mankind," Yan said.
China Television Corporation CEO Liang Dawei (2nd left), discusses changing trends in online content at the forum. /CGTN
Liang Dawei, CEO of China Television Corporation, also attended the forum. His company has been working with U.S. media on online content from China since the 1990s. He said the biggest overseas demand is for Chinese movies.
"Major streaming platforms in the United States are constantly seeking high-quality Chinese video content. In my personal opinion, from the statistics we collected backstage, Chinese movies are still the most popular (form of this content) among American audiences. Next is Chinese TV dramas, then Chinese food, and documentaries about history," Liang said.
Participants exchanged views on how to better promote international cultural exchanges.
Matej Zima, a budding reporter from Slovenia who now lives in Chengdu, said fostering mutual understanding of different cultures is an issue he's passionate about. Zima is a member of the "World Panda Youth Reporter" project – a three-year action plan launched by Chengdu Radio and Television Station to pursue peaceful relations among countries through more cultural exchanges and dialogue.
"In addition to academic exchanges between China and Slovenia, I think it's also very important to strengthen the ties between the people of the two countries. I think this is even more significant than academic cooperation," Zima told CGTN.
He said he harbored many misconceptions about China before arriving in the country 18 years ago, and now he feels it is his mission to update his fellow Slovenians about what modern China is really like.