Flexing nation's cultural muscle

Image Base is an example of China's growing cultural clout and illustrates the importance that officials place on developing creative industries.

The central government last month introduced tax breaks for cultural companies and publishers of the Blue Book of China's Culture are bullish about their potential.

Zhang Xiaoming, the paper's editor-in-chief at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, says the economic slowdown provides a chance to focus on developing cultural products.