In 1979, there were only 1,470 magazine titles published in China, most of them focusing on current affairs, literature, social sciences and engineering. By the end of last year, 9,386 magazine titles had been produced, their combined circulation totaling 2.85 billion copies, and their contents covering a much wider range of subjects, from hard news and entertainment to fashion, sports and finance. What merits noticing is the dramatic increase of commercial magazines, an encouraging signal for an expanding market.

This substantial growth in number and variety is credited in part to China’s reform and opening up since the late 1970s, which not only improved the living standard of the people, but also stimulated their demand for a more colorful and diversified cultural life, and in part to state policies aimed at developing a prosperous and healthy magazine industry, such as providing tax holidays, updating industry standards and regulations, and commending the production of periodicals of excellence in terms of content and quality.

Global publishing houses have also made their presence known. Today, 54 well-known foreign magazines, such as Cosmopolitan, Elle and BusinessWeek, have collaborated with local publishers in producing Chinese editions or running contents of their more matured brands in local magazines through copyright trade, and in the wake of China’s commitments to the WTO, the business side of magazine operation, including distribution, advertising and printing, have been deregulated to foreign competitors. Along with the arrival of companies from overseas come new ideas, concepts and experience, and one of the major shifts in thinking for the domestic titles is the realization that magazines are not merely another type of print media, but a commodity that requires both editorial and marketing skills to bring in profits and benefit readers. With the restructuring of the local industry, more and more Chinese magazines have gained good results by switching to market-oriented development, instead of relying on state subsidies. Take advertising revenue for example. Figures from the Beijing-based Media Research Institute, Renmin University of China, suggest that the growth rate has maintained an average 34.5 percent over the past 23 years.

While remarkable progress has been made compared with nearly three decades ago, China’s magazine industry is faced with severe future challenges. This may include upcoming fierce competition from international players, shortage of high-caliber editorial, marketing and management professionals, and the absence of an effective auditing system to reinforce market orders. On the positive side, though, local magazines may boast of having one of the largest potential readerships in the world, comparatively fast industry growth amid booming economic and social development, and a media environment becoming more liberal.

The International Federation of the Periodical Press, or FIPP, is scheduled to convene its 36th World Magazine Congress in Beijing from May 13-15. A grand gathering of the world periodical family, this will offer an opportunity for foreign colleagues to know more about magazines in China and help local magazines learn more from their foreign counterparts.