Culture makes up an indispensable part of our
lives, just like material comfort. It is thought of as an important
source of a nation's vitality and creativity, and constitutes a key
factor uniting the nation, while making it distinctive from other
countries. It is also said culture is a productive power that not
only shapes human concepts and impacts their behavior, but also
contributes in no small measure to the betterment of our material
as well as spiritual world.
Realizing the crucial importance of culture in
a nation's development, China has, over the past decade,
implemented a series of restructuring and preferential policies to
boost and enliven the country's cultural industries. Thanks to
these endeavors, the cultural industries expanded at an amazingly
fast pace, taking in 1.1 trillion yuan ($172 billion) in value
added in 2010, up 24.2 percent annually from 2008. With a
revitalization plan for the cultural industries, sanctioned by the
Central Government in July 2009, China's cultural industries have
been granted the same strategic status as 10 other industries,
including steelmaking, automobiles, petrochemicals and textiles,
making it a top priority for the nation's advancement.
Despite the progress made and the status
bestowed on the industries, challenges are emerging. For instance,
the growth momentum of cultural industries does not match that of
the economy. What is more, it does not meet the Chinese people's
growing needs for a variety of quality cultural products. It was at
this juncture the ruling Communist Party of China convened a plenum
on October 15-18, at which new guidelines for the cultural
industries were set down by the top leadership. These included
concrete steps, such as market deregulation and new and different
allocation of financial resources, to strive to create a greater
cultural boom.
The goals set accord precisely with China's
present development stage. In the vast cultural industries, China
is dwarfed by some other developed nations with strong cultural
prowess. A Chinese Academy of Social Sciences report released back
in August said China's cultural industry revenue now stands for
barely 4 percent of the world total, while those of the United
States, the EU and Japan account for 43 percent, 34 percent and 10
percent, respectively. In these countries, the production of
various cultural goods constitutes a much greater part of economic
activity and contributes significantly to their economic and
cultural development.
China indeed needs to reach a state of parity
to develop its cultural industries into a powerhouse, not only to
satisfy the growing demands of the Chinese people for healthier and
more enriched cultural lives, and raise the cultural and moral
integrity of the nation, but also to maintain more balanced
economic, social and cultural development for the nation, as well
as boost China's overall competitiveness.
|