A mechanism should be established to coordinate between the domestic and overseas cultural markets, exploit the advantages of the large domestic cultural market, break industrial and regional segmentation, and encourage fair and open competition to strengthen the cultural industry's chain. Efforts should also be made to develop a number of overseas-oriented cultural industrial clusters and make specialization a trait of the industry to enable it to compete in the domestic as well as overseas markets.

The United States has a well-developed Walt Disney-led industrial cluster in the animation industry with a clear-cut division of labor and wide business coverage, including theme parks and facilities, filmmaking, research and development in derivative products, music and DVD companies, and publishing houses. A reasonable profit distribution mechanism has been established on this basis in production, distribution, derivative product development and sales, making it easier to attract more consumers.

At the same time, we should seize the opportunities offered by the global financial crisis by encouraging domestic cultural enterprises to participate in joint ventures with foreign companies, introduce talents, technologies and management experience conducive to the development of China's cultural industry, and build multinational cultural companies to promote international competition.

Cooperation between the government, enterprises and industry associations needs to be strengthened to form cooperative partnership. The government should enhance its capacity building to actively adapt to globalization and respond timely to risks. A thorough reform needs to be carried out in cultural departments to integrate cultural management and service resources, raise service awareness and improve the level of service. Organizations such as industry associations for overseas-oriented cultural enterprises should be established to facilitate a self-regulatory system, information gathering, capital operation, technology research and development, and marketing.

To strengthen cultural information service, the government should set up or entrust professional information service organizations to improve the index system, establish a database for the cultural industry, collect and process relevant cultural information, and offer comprehensive information service to overseas-oriented cultural enterprises.

International dialogue in and the cooperation mechanism for the cultural industry should be strengthened to give more voice to China in the rule-making process of global cultural trade. There is also a need to build a platform for web service, exhibitions, marketing activities and presentation of cultural products and services and to organize globally influential trade fairs to encourage and support overseas-oriented cultural enterprises to participate in culture promotion campaigns and publicize Chinese cultural enterprises, and their products and services

The rise of China's soft power is a gradual process reflecting its increasing economic strength. But we should be patient and persistent, and exhibit a more open, cooperative, inclusive and innovative attitude to help domestic cultural enterprises expand in overseas markets and promote Chinese culture across the world.

The author is an associate researcher at the Research Department of Industrial Economy, the Development Research Center of the State Council.

(China Daily 12/31/2013 page9)