Zhou Baolin, Vice President of China Film Corporation: Quota restrictions on imported films will not be relaxed for the time being, which will strengthen industrial chain cooperation

Over the past ten years of development of China's film industry, the film market has continued to expand. In particular, the infrastructure of theaters has been fundamentally improved. The overall market has become bigger, and the foundation for the box office of imported films to increase year by year. Only then can films from all over the world, including American films, have greater market space in China and gain greater economic benefits.

Interview with Zhou Baolin, vice president of China Film Corporation: Hollywood is a bit pretentious. Domestic film protection month does not exist.

"From 2007 to 2012, we talked back and forth with the United States on the phone and at the negotiating table on issues such as distribution rights and import rights of overseas films. We talked dozens of times, and finally on the evening of February 17, an agreement was formally reached and the current quantity and division ratio was determined." As a participant in the 2012 negotiations on the "Memorandum of Understanding between China and the United States on Resolving WTO Film-Related Issues", Zhou Baolin, now deputy general manager of China Film Company Limited, still remembers the details of the negotiations several years ago.

Last weekend, Zhou Baolin gave a keynote speech on the development of China's film industry at a sharing meeting on the development of China's film market and development. After the meeting, reporters interviewed Zhou Baolin on hot issues such as the number of overseas film imports next year and "Film Protection Month".

In response to previous rumors that restrictions on the number of imported films will be relaxed in 2017, in Zhou Baolin's view, although China is an increasingly open trend towards the overseas film industry, a new round of negotiations has not yet taken place, so no one can give an exact answer to the number next year; When talking about the issue of summer film protection month, Zhou Baolin bluntly said that there is no "protection month". Instead, he pointed out that Hollywood films also need to avoid competition in the selection of schedules."They always talk about this. They are a little pretentious."

Will the quota restrictions on imported films be relaxed in 2017?

Reporter: At the end of last year, there were rumors that restrictions on the import of overseas films would be relaxed this year. Is this news true?

Zhou Baolin: The number of 34 imported films we are currently executing has been implemented since the two governments signed the "Memorandum of Understanding between China and the United States on Resolving WTO Film-Related Issues" in 2012. The implementation period is five years, that is, by the end of this year. In fact, the new round of memorandums of understanding has not yet been discussed, so no one is sure what the number of imported films will be next year.

According to the requirements of the memorandum, 2017 is a transition period, and new conditions can be negotiated next year. If we don't talk, we will return to the WTO ruling and a new memorandum will be formed after talks. When it comes to specific results, the overall trend is definitely becoming more and more open, but this opening refers to the opening up of cooperation in various industry chains. Whether the number of films introduced will increase, the result is not yet visible. I personally don't think there will be any decline in quantity, but it is too early to propose lifting the limit on the number of imported films.

Reporter: What is the background of the "WTO ruling"?

Zhou Baolin: In 2007, the United States sued the World Trade Organization arbitration body over the market access of publications in China. The publications in the lawsuit include many industry issues such as our films, publications, music, and games.

In fact, China's film industry has begun to take shape in 2007, which has attracted the attention of many foreign film companies represented by Hollywood. Specifically regarding films, there are three main aspects of their litigation. One is the issue of film distribution rights, the second is the issue of film import rights, and the third question is our censorship system. Distribution rights, import rights, and censorship are actually the three cores of imported film market management.

After 2007, we began to talk with the United States on these issues. In 2009, the arbitration body of the World Trade Organization issued a report that supported the United States 'right to liberalize film import rights, but did not support the United States' claims for distribution rights and censorship issues, and the subsequent arbitration in 2010 was also the result. After the arbitration results came out, China and the United States communicated again and chose not to implement the arbitration results, but to resolve the issue through consultation between the two sides. In the end, after multiple rounds of communication and negotiation between the two parties, 14 new imported U.S. films were finally formed as determined in the Memorandum, and the share ratio was increased to 25%.

Photo note: In 2012, then-Vice President Xi Jinping and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden reached an agreement on film-related issues in the WTO

. Domestic Film Protection Month "does not exist", and imported films are also actively avoiding New Year

Reporter: Although the number of imported films has increased, until this year, audiences have not seen Hollywood blockbusters during the summer for many years, which has led to the term "Domestic Film Protection Month." Since cooperation between China and the United States in film is becoming more and more open, why is this happening?

Zhou Baolin: In the past, our film market in China did have macro-control schedules, but it was not targeted at Hollywood films, but all films, including domestic films, would have a schedule coordination. This kind of macro-control is also resolved through consultation, and the management department has never used administrative means to interfere with the schedule. Even when there was coordination, I never said that Hollywood films should not come in during the summer, not to mention that this regulation has long disappeared.

With the development of China's films, their market competitiveness has become stronger and stronger. Including friends from some American film companies, when they contacted and communicated with us, they would also raise some issues about the schedule and ask us which domestic films were more powerful and when they were going to release them. They also deliberately staggered some of our schedules.

In previous years, two Hollywood debt-sharing films were scheduled to be released on two consecutive days, but they quit and lodged representations with the China government through U.S. government diplomatic channels. American films are used to occupying the screen. That year, eight new films were released at the same time on our "March 8" day. What should our domestic film companies do? To compete in the market, everyone must have a fair market environment, and we cannot specialize it specifically for Hollywood. They always talk about this, which is a bit pretentious.

The "Domestic Film Protection Month" actually does not exist. For a period of time, there will be more domestic films and for a period of time, there will be more imported films. This is a natural law formed in the development of my country's film market. And in fact, it's not just the summer season. You can find that in recent years, the most obvious one is actually our New Year's Eve. Since many domestic commercial blockbusters choose to release during the New Year's Eve season, it has become a rule that imported blockbusters generally actively choose to avoid this period.

Reporter: But again Hollywood films appeared in July this year. Is it really the reason for "rescuing the market" as previously speculated by the media?

Zhou Baolin: The choice of schedule is the result of the film company's comprehensive consideration of market factors. With the rapid development of my country's film industry and the increase in the number of screens, it has become possible to accommodate more films in one slot.

If you say that we rely on imported films to save the market, we did not have a lot of Hollywood films in the second quarter, but the overall market in the second quarter was still not very satisfactory.

The American film industry has shared the dividends of the reform and development of China's film market. Over the past ten years of development of China's film industry, the film market has continued to expand. In particular, the infrastructure of theaters has been fundamentally improved. The overall market has become bigger, and the foundation for the box office of imported films to increase year by year. Only then can films from all over the world, including American films, have greater market space in China and gain greater economic benefits. The American film market also has a regular rule, and many films cannot enter the market. In fact, most influential films in Hollywood have entered the China market in recent years, and only a small number of films have not entered the market for some reasons. Overall, we will become more and more open and achieve win-win results through cooperation.

Editor: Nancy