Pressing need for creative economy
By Huang Qing (China Daily)Updated: 2006-11-27 09:02 First there was the "new economy," then there was the "knowledge economy," and now we have the "creative economy." Call it what you will, but the nation is arguably attaching more importance to "chuangyi" (creativity) to restructure its economy.
In big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, massive material and political resources have been devoted to what leaders term "chuangyi jingji" (creative economy) as a key strategic element for advancing the cities' development.
As a name, the "chuangyi" economy is hardly as clear as knowledge economy, but "chuangyi" does points to one important dimension that the nation needs to pay particular attention to.
Look at China's trade disputes with some developed nations. China is often accused of not doing enough to protect intellectual property rights (IPR).
However, Western and Chinese companies interpret the notion of IPR very differently. The former consider IPR to be legally binding, while the latter may not. The authorities now strive hard to crack down on IPR violations, but in the eyes of many Chinese, intellectual property has yet to be recognized as such.
For this reason, laws and regulations have been enacted to help create an environment that respects and protects intellectual property rights.
We can be positive that they do help ban fake goods. However, laws and regulations can hardly create China's creative economy unless we can first produce a generation of creative minds. In addition, we need an environment promoting and welcoming creativity and a system that guarantees creativity and entrepreneurship.
After all, creative industry is not simply about figures, copyrights or patents. It has everything to do with minds.
Ultimately, of course, what's important is not trade disputes but people's rights their right to create, the right to what they have created, and the right to protect their creations.
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