Great expectations: China's cultural industry and case study of a government-sponsored creative cluster

Abstract

The Chinese government proposed to upgrade its manufacturing-driven economy to a creative and innovation-based economy by developing cultural industries. Developing cultural industries involves a process of cultural modernization demanding a whole series of economic, legal and socio-urban structures within which these industries can thrive.In China, the essence of the cultural industry reforms is to open up the country's cultural market and facilitate the development of a cultural economy, whilst retaining the government's tight grip of content. The partial privatization operations under the party-controlled system have caused years of conflict between commercial and public interests. Examples can be found from the case study of a government-sponsored creative cluster, International Creative Industries Alliance (ICIA), Beijing.As the cultural industries began with the exterior sectors of the industries, the reforms have brought little impact to the core sector — the content industry. But the reforms have allowed creative entrepreneurs a more relaxed environment to produce creative content. With the growing power of Chinese consumers and the speedy technological convergence, the relations between creative entrepreneurs and the government have entered a new phase.As China rapidly embraces market socialism, Chinese society has started to recognize the importance of creativity and individual expression. Although the top-down party-controlled model of state-run media stays unchanged, commercial interests and consumer demands are the driving forces to push for a more diverse and creative Chinese society.

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