Report: Chinese cultural firms' global influence correlates with local economy

Chinese cultural firms' global influence is highly correlated with their local economic and cultural development, according to a report.

Based on the results of over 200 questionnaires on cultural enterprises in 10 prefecture-level cities in east China's Zhejiang Province, the report aims to assess the basic profile of Chinese cultural enterprises' overseas influence.

Of all the 367 enterprises China's Ministry of Commerce listed as the 2023-2024 national cultural export key enterprises, 20 were from Zhejiang, featuring the internet and film industries.

The report revealed that Chinese cultural enterprises have significant advantages in cross-cultural awareness, adaptation and information dissemination, with a number of enterprises establishing extensive partnerships, distribution channels, active social media accounts and loyal fans across the globe.

It also indicated that there exist deficiencies in cultural output, identity construction and behavioral guidance for these Chinese cultural enterprises and the persistent challenge of "cultural discount" – culture may not be recognized in the international market due to the different cultural background.

To encourage Chinese cultural enterprises to enter the global market, the report suggested that efforts should be made from three aspects.

Firstly, the government should assess regional differences and optimize policies for the internationalization of the cultural industry in different regions.

Secondly, Chinese cultural values that are shared by the globe should be uncovered.

Thirdly, the enterprises should enhance their core competitiveness by focusing on product innovation.

The report has been prepared by a team led by Zhao Yupei, director at the Artificial Intelligence International Communication Innovation Center under the College of Media and International Culture of Zhejiang University.