China's film bureau denies easing foreign film quota

By Wu Jin: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, February 11, 2014

Adjust font size:

China will not increase its quota on foreign films as was alleged in the Hollywood Reporter this year, an official from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) told Chinanews recently, on condition of anonymity.

China will not increase its quota on foreign films as was alleged in the Hollywood Reporter this year. [File photo]

In a recent report from Hollywood Reporter, an entertainment media organization founded in 1930, China is considering increasing the quota of foreign movies from 34 to 44.

The paper also quoted an anonymous source as saying "We are examining raising the quota of foreign movies right now, probably by around 10 films. It's being discussed but we haven't made a decision yet."

China has increased its quota on foreign films from 20 to 34 since Feb. 18, 2012, when China and the United States reached a memorandum on the movie industry. "All decisions should abide by China's commitment to the World Trade Organization (WTO) since its accession and the Sino-US memorandum on the movie industry," the official who denied the report said.

According to the film bureau, domestic films made 12.767 billion yuan (US$2.11 billion) at the box office in 2013, a 54.32 percent increase from a year earlier, accounting for 58.65 percent of the gross revenue of the Chinese film market.