China's auction business: The art of the real deal - Part 3 of CGTN's 'Brush Hour' series

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CGTN business correspondent Martina Fuchs investigates the world of China's art auction‍s and discovers what their success says not only about China but the world economy.

Since Sotheby’s entered China in 2013, other international auction houses such as Christie’s have also been authorised to hold independent sales in China through a licence granted by the government, while Phillips and Bonhams have opened outposts in Hong Kong together with other companies from Japan and South Korea.

CGTN visits the Poly 2016 Autumn Art Auction in Beijing.

They are heating up the competition for domestic players like Poly Auction or China Guardian. The mainland currently counts some 6,400 auction companies registered under the Ministry of Commerce, with some 400 specializing in art.

Picasso painting shown at Christie's new flagship space in Beijing.

2016 saw a major shakeup in the global auction market, with China besting the US in terms of auction turnover. Auction sales in China were up 18 percent in the first half of last year, according to online database Artprice. The 570-million-US-dollar increase in sales gave China the largest share of the auction market at 35.5 percent. The United States followed at 26.8 percent.

Works by top Chinese artists also broke records in the first half of 2016. One of those artists was Zhang Daqian, whose Peach Blossom Spring (1982) sold for 34.7 million dollars at Sotheby’s - more than four times its estimate.

Ancient Chinese calligraphy exhibited at the Beijing Poly 2016 Autumn Art Auction in Beijing.

There is currently a new focus on Western art and works by lesser-known Southeast Asian artists for example, and more sales are held outside the spring and autumn seasons.

Chinese auctioneers have burst on to the world stage, but together with the international houses they are not immune to the Chinese economic slowdown. In addition, analysts forecast a stormy 2017 due to China’s capital controls and the anti-graft campaign, as well as uncertainties linked to Brexit and the new Trump administration in the US, which could sour people's appetite to buy art.

Show: Global Business on China Global Television Network (CGTN)