China is to set up three major cultural groups to mine its wealth of culture and give a boost to the cultural industry during the financial crisis.

The plans were announced yesterday by Ouyang Jian, the vice-minister for culture, with the aim of boosting the development of the industry, as well as the nation's overall economic growth.

"We will establish first-class international companies in cartoon and animation, showbusiness and digital cultural content," he said on the sidelines of the National People's Congress (NPC) session.