China’s Cultural Industry Development in the Era of Globalization

Jiang Youwei(School of Languages Studies　Chongqing University of Technology,Chongqing　400069)



China’s Cultural Industry Development in the Era of Globalization

Jiang Youwei
(School of Languages StudiesChongqing University of Technology,Chongqing400069)

Despite its abundant cultural resources,China’s cultural industry is still faced with a number of problems,such as underdevelopment,small scale,inefficient administration,and unsound legislation,a shortage of both funds and talents.All these weaknesses are analyzed in detail in this paper.Some concrete suggestions are put forward in the hope that they will give a boost to the prosperity and dissemination of Chinese culture in the whole world.

globalization;cultural industry;current situation;strategies

Ⅰ.Problems and challenges facing China’s cultural development

1.Underdevelopment of China’s abundant cultural resources

In recent years,Chinese folk songs,acrobatics,kites,Beijing operas,and Chinese apparels and accessories have become increasingly popular abroad,fully demonstrating their cultural value and vitality.Still,things mentioned above are just a tiny fraction of the long-living Chinese culture is able to offer.The great potentials and values of many historical sites,cultural relics,scenic spots,handcrafts,folklores,and literature are still waiting to be explored.Compared with those of the United States,Japan,and South Korea,China’s cultural industry is still lagging far behind in terms of its scale,quality,popularity and overall competitiveness.Despite rich cultural resources in China,the nation’s cultural industry has to be strengthened and Chinese cultural products are still in need of diversification.

2.Small scale and unbalanced development

The majority of enterprises devoted to cultural development are financially weak and unable to generate scale effect.Plus,the unbalanced development is another issue.Shanghai and Guangdong in the coastal areas with more developed economies hold the dominant market shares of the industry.Inland areas,especially some remote areas,are still at an early stage in the industrialization of their local cultures.This is due in large part to their poor economic conditions.Also,a handful of big cities in China are concentrated with a lion’s share of the country’s cultural industry.Rural areas,on the contrary,are still in want of cultural activities.In some remote and poverty-stricken areas,the cultural vacuum is still to be filled.The small scale and unbalanced development are both responsible for current lackluster development of China’s cultural industry.

3.Inefficient administration

As the reform of the cultural development mechanism is still at its initial stage and the government’s functions are undergoing transformation,the sound development of China’s cultural industry still faces some restricting factors.Due to this,the market role in optimizing the allocation of resources cannot be fully achieved.Over-dependent on governments’ assistance,enterprises in the cultural industry still have a lot to do in utilizing cultural resources and channeling them into real production force.The anemic growth rate of China’s cultural industry also leads to a huge gap between the real effects of a series of cultural policies and their intended purposes.

4.Unsound legislation and shortages in funds and talents

In some places,it is usually not easy for capitals from the general public to enter the sector.Featuring high investments,high risks,and high returns,the cultural industry is often in short of capitals and public financing is often hard to get.Cultural enterprises often find it difficult to raise funds and some believe it is too costly to seek financing.Thus,the high aims made by some cultural policies can hardly be achieved.〔1〕

In addition,a large talent pool is indispensable for the fast development of the cultural industry.〔2〕The huge demand for cultural talents requires an upgraded educational system and an advanced cultivation mode.People who are both knowledgeable in cultures and skillful at related management and business operation are the key for the robust growth of China’s cultural industry.

Ⅱ.Suggestions for the sound development of Chinese cultural industry

1.A sound legislation and regulation system must be put in place

Industrial policies are Chinese government’s basic means to adjust its macro-economy.To build an orderly and open cultural market,governments at various levels must continue to push forward the reform in the cultural sector,clear hurdles and barriers that prevent the growth of cultural industry,roll out policies and regulations that are conducive to the overall health of the industry,and strengthen government’s macro-controls.Meanwhile,market should play a dominant role in directing the development of the industry while government’s macro-control also should regulate its healthy growth.A sound policy and legislation system is a guarantee of funds,talents and mechanisms for the development of China’s cultural industry.

Laws and regulations are the lever to regulate the market economy.Enterprises involved in cultural should be operated and managed according to related laws and regulations to compete in a fair market environment.Copyright laws and other laws and regulations both at the state level and regional level concerning the management of audio,video products and film market,etc.should be fully implemented.More importantly,a sound cultural market in which any administrative activities should be conducted on the basis of related laws and regulations should be cultivated.Efforts must be made to further protect intellectual property rights and crack down on counterfeit goods.

2.Cultural industrial structure should be optimized to transform China’s rich cultural resources into international competitiveness

To build a competitive edge for Chinese cultural industry,it is far from enough by just making adjustments to the current enterprises.To restructure and integrate all rich cultural resources with an eye of the overall economic and social development is more feasible.Any restrictions across regions,departments and different sectors should be removed.In an effort to improve the allocation of various factors,such as resources,talents,technologies,and capitals,merge and acquisition,purchase,restructuring should be encouraged.Large-scale enterprises reaching different regions and different sectors with varied ownership systems should play a key role in pushing forward the economy of scale by forming a complete industrial chain and industrial clusters.〔3〕

3.More management talents should be cultivated to guarantee the sustainable development of Chinese cultural industry

Hi-technologies are indispensable for the continued growth of cultural industry.Thus,well-educated and skillful people are in huge demand.The success of China’s cultural industry depends on the quality and quantity of its human resources.It is advisable for Chinese governments to take immediate actions to come up with development strategies for its cultural industry and give priorities to the education and training of people.In addition,impetus can also be given to attract talented people from abroad and create a more entrepreneur-friendly environment.

4.More efforts should be made to explore the international cultural market and strengthen cultural exchange and cooperation

To further integrate into the international community and improve the nation’s overall competitiveness,China needs to further accelerate its going-out process and expand its cultural influence on the global market.〔4〕Cultural enterprises should grasp every opportunity to go out,making new investments,setting up joint ventures or forming multi-national strategic alliances with their counterparts in the overseas market.To further cut down China’s cultural trade deficit,more favorable cultural trade policies should be made.China has huge potentials to become major exporter in terms of its cultural products.To realize such potentials,all those well-known higher education institutions and cultural enterprises are urged to set up a new platform for more frequent and higher level of regional and international cultural exchanges.In the meantime,China should play a bigger role in international cultural organizations and promote Chinese culture on a higher platform.

5.An internationalized development road should be adhered to improve the international status of China’s cultural industry

Any cultural products with Chinese characteristics and styles should be made with international vision and marketed globally.Brands with international fame,boasting huge intangible assets,are usually the effective conduit for a culture to go global.In the cut-throat cultural market,more cultural brands such as Dynamic Yunan,Impression Sanjie Liu,and Lishui Jinsha,all of which are full of unique aesthetic tastes and could be well appreciated by large audiences,should be introduced to the international market.Despite its rich cultural resources,China is still lagging far behind a number of developed countries in terms of the export of its cultural products.To remedy such a situation,China must draw experiences from the USA,Japan,South Korea and European countries and carry out more constructive dialogues and cooperation.Researches on the overseas markets and customers’ needs should also be conducted.China also needs to encourage and support the export of its cultural products and make its cultural market more aligned with the international operation mode and mechanisms.

6.Measures must be taken to utilize rich and unique Chinese cultural resources and achieve a more sustainable development road

Adhering to a sustainable development road is the only way out for China’s cultural industry.In essence,such a road requires a more coordinated and balanced development between various cultural resources,different sectors within and without the cultural industry.Sustainable development is a sure way to keep the continuity and stratification of the overall industry.〔5〕China boasts a long history,expansive lands,a number of ethnic groups,and abundant cultural resources.How to explore all these resources in a scientific manner is of strategic importance for the whole nation.First,comprehensive and systematic studies must be conducted to evaluate each and every aspect of our cultural resources.Second,in a more integrated world,China is constantly brought into contact with new cultural values and beliefs from abroad.We cannot afford to ignore the protection and conservation of Chinese culture.Indeed,favorable development conditions have already been created by our ancestors,who have left us with uniquely precious tangible and intangible heritages.However,all these heritages,including architectural relics,traditions and customs,can be easily lost or forgotten if immediate efforts are not made to conserve them.They not only belong to Chinese people,they are also the shared fortunes of all human beings.

Ⅲ.Conclusion

The development of China’s cultural industry is indispensable to maintaining the diversity and dynamics of the nation’s culture.As an emerging industry with huge potentials in creating wealth in the 21st century,the cultural industry has already generated enormous economic and social returns and thus has been put high on the strategic development agenda of many countries across the world.Inevitably,it will exert unprecedented impacts on the reshuffle of the world order in the foreseeable future.

China’s cultural industry,whose growth has been impeded by the out-dated cultural development mechanisms,is still lagging behind a number of countries.However,China’s abundant and unique cultural heritages guarantee unlimited resources for powering the growth of its cultural industry.Immediate measures should be taken to roll out diversified strategies for different places,improve its policies,laws and regulations related to the development of cultural industry,optimize industrial structure,and explore overseas market.Only by seeking an a new mode of sound growth can we sharpen the overall competitiveness of China’s cultural industry on the global market.

References:

〔1〕Cai Wujin,Approach to the Construction of Law System of Cultural Industry in China,Fujian Tribune,2014(10),pp.56-62.

〔2〕Wu He,Yu Xiaohong,Xu Fangyi,The Strategy to Solve the Problem of Financing of Chinese Cultural Industry,Economic Review,2013(1),pp.105-107.

〔3〕Chen Shaofeng,Reflection on the Mode of Cultural Industry,Journal of Huazhong Normal University(Humanities and Social Sciences),2012(4),pp.77-81.

〔4〕Tu Haoran,Lu Ligang,Chinese National Cultural Security in the Construction of Cultural Identity in the Era of Globalization,Forward Position,2011(7),pp.182-186.

〔5〕Wang Jianping,An Empirical Study of the Influence of “Going Out” Strategy on the Cultural Industry in China,Management World,pp.178-179.

About the author：Jiang Youwei,lecturer of School of Languages Studies of Chongqing University of Technology,research field:Practical Linguistics and Intercultural Communication.