Talented people: crucial to culture business' future

Culture is becoming a new growth area in the city of Changchun, traditionally known more as an industrial base for its non-cultural automobiles, farm products, and railway cars.

But the culture business saw a yearly increase of 54 percent in output, to 19.67 billion yuan ($3 billion), last year.

That is expected to surpass 100 billion yuan by 2015.

The city government began placing more emphasis on the culture business in recent years in hopes of making it a major part of the economy.

Gao Guangbin, city Party chief, pointed to animation, movies, information services, tourism and exhibitions as examples of where they are heading.

"The authorities should support the culture business no less than they do industrial companies," Gao said.

It is the big companies, those with annual sales of more than 30 million yuan, who are expected to play a leading role in culture industry development and will be given most support, according to Gao.

But small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will not be left out since they are a dynamic force that cannot be ignored, he added.

The authorities are considering reduced taxes for culture-related companies, which is expected to help ease their capital flow problems.

Creativity needs to be connected with technology as a combination of culture and economics, Gao said. "Whoever can do well in this area (technology and culture) can stand out in this industry overall."

Changchun is already home to a number of well-known animators and an animation college that is known nationwide. Both are of help to provide a friendly environment for the industry.

The city's Changchun Film Studio has had a high profile in the culture business for a long time and authorities plan to encourage more investment in the leading studio to expand the reach of local moviemakers.

At the same time, as the city regularly hosts a series of international festivals and well-established fairs in movies, agriculture, autos and tourism, the exhibition sector is also taking on a robust growth.

A culture industry park is also under construction, designed to put the spotlight on movies, animation, the media, higher learning institutions and even modern agriculture.

There is also a tourism and exhibition zone on Lotus Mountain, near the urban area, in the works. This year, the authorities say they will speed up work on its infrastructure and key projects.

Talent is the key to keeping the culture business going, Gao noted, so new policies are being formulated to attract more experts and specialists in the field.

(China Daily 06/01/2011 page24)