Sun Li (center) is one of the most highly paid stars on TV. Photo provided to China Daily

Earlier this year, the Chinese administration also officially required that, starting in January 2015, each TV production be licensed to two TV channels at most. Previously a Chinese show often ran at the same time on as many as five or six channels. Shrinking profits are expected to encourage producers to cut their payments to actors.

However, that will only cause actor payments to be starkly polarized, says Du. As the best ones are still their major selling point, he says, producers would still have to pay them a large amount and maybe cut the payments to other actors involved.

Therefore, he adds, it's quite necessary to apply a forceful method like putting a ceiling on star payments.

In a forum held by Sina Entertainment earlier this month on Chinese TV industry development, producer Hou Hongliang says the payment problem should be completely left to the market.

"As long as an actor can bring about values that match his payments, his existence is reasonable," he says. "If he is not suitable, we could always find someone else to do it. But when we decide to use him, it means we believe he is more valuable than other people. The price then is irrelevant."

Du agrees that the market should solve the problem, but it must become rational.

"This has a lot to do with the country's overall economic environment," he says. "When the hot money comes so easily, how many investors will think twice before they spend it?

"My pessimistic view is that, if we completely rely on the market, the situation won't change for at least 10 years."

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