Wuxi, a city in Jiangsu province boasting a proud 30-year history of producing cartoons, is set for another shot in the arm from the animation industry.

The city has tasked local animation studios with creating 100,000 minutes of homegrown programming including two new famous cartoon characters, as well as two new online games, by 2010, according to Liu Hongzhi, vice-mayor of the city.

"Fostering a homegrown industry chain comprising original cartoon making and research and development of related products including video games, clothing, publications and toys, is the primary task," Liu said yesterday.

At present, the animation industry's profits are mainly snaffled by US and Japanese firms. A lot of cartoon studios in Wuxi are still limited to producing outsourced work for overseas firms, according to Liu.

"To bring together creative talent and business skills is very important," said top advisor to the Wuxi government John Howkins, known as the father of Britain's creative industry.

China's cartoon industry has grown significantly in recent years with more than 200,000 registered companies.

Domestic firms produced nearly 1,700 hours of animation in 2007, 23 percent more than the previous year. However, nearly half of the products were outsourced works.

The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) has adopted favorable policies for domestic cartoon makers. Domestic studios can get production approval simply by stating the theme and presenting the script of the cartoon to the SARFT.

Starting from May 1, no foreign cartoons will be aired between 5 and 9 pm on Chinese TV channels, according to a SARFT regulation adopted in February which aims to convey more Chinese values to children.

(China Daily April 21, 2008)