China enhances culture industry competitiveness

BEIJING - The Ministry of Culture released Tuesday a cultural development plan that includes a goal of doubling the added value of the culture industry by 2015.

The plan specifies guiding principles, strategies, goals and policy support for the culture industry from 2011 to 2015, Vice Culture Minister Li Xiaojie said.

The ministry oversees opera houses, libraries, art galleries and art troupes.

The industry is expected to see an annual growth rate of over 20 percent in years towards 2015, increasing gross added value of the industry to between 800 and 900 billion yuan ($127 and 142 billion), Li said.

The development plan came days after China published a detailed culture reform outline from 2011 to 2015.

The added value of the culture industry under the ministry control amounts to nearly 400 billion yuan, almost one third of the total added value of the nation's culture industry, Li said.

"People's vigorous demands for cultural products are the biggest impetus for realizing the 'doubling goal,'" the vice minister said.

According to the plan, China strives to upgrade cultural attractions so as to make them more attractive to customers.

Local governments are encouraged to subsidize low-income residents and migrant workers for consuming cultural products and services, and government institutions, schools and troupes are urged to open facilities to the public.

Li said the targeted annual growth rate of 20 percent is reasonable as the growth between 2008 and 2010 reached 24.2 percent annually.

The annual growth of the added value of the culture industry is much faster than that of the country's gross domestic product, which shows the great potential of the culture industry, Li said.

To realize the goal included in the plan, China should stimulate large-scale culture enterprises to form conglomerates with international competitiveness, according to the development plan.

Meanwhile, medium and small culture enterprises should be consistently supported by methods such as government procurement and financial aids.

By 2015, the ministry will set up ten national culture industry parks and nurture 100 towns with diversified features of the culture industry.

Creative designing, cartoon and digital production and hi-tech culture enterprises are encouraged in east China, while the central and west parts are expected to develop cultural tourism, arts and handicrafts and exhibitions.

The plan sets to create an added value of 600 billion yuan by 2015 in the art and handicraft industry, with an export volume of more than $20 billion.