Qianhai’s latest policy to bolster the high-quality development of the cultural industry will reduce the cost of cultural collaboration between Shenzhen and Hong Kong and facilitate Chinese enterprises’ global expansion, industry insiders said.
They made the remarks after the special economic zone in Shenzhen unveiled 18 innovative measures recently aimed at promoting Shenzhen-Hong Kong cultural cooperation, cultural industry development as well as cultural tourism consumption.
Integration of film, television and the performing arts between Shenzhen and Hong Kong will be deepened with the introduction of a “two-way incentive” policy, under which co-produced film and TV drama projects that meet specific criteria will be granted subsidies at a rate of 2 percent and 3 percent respectively, based on box office earnings or transaction value on purchase and broadcast. An extra reward of 500,000 yuan ($70,210) will be offered if the filming takes place in Qianhai.
Support will also be given for game development, exhibitions and publishing. For example, for game firms that have launched certain games, a one-time reward of 500,000 yuan will be offered for each new game released in the previous year, capped at 3 million yuan annually.
Vincent Liu, vice-chairman of Shenzhen Travel Agency Industry Association, praised the policy launch, saying it will significantly lower the cost of cultural cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong “in a systematic and precise manner”.
“Innovation of this new policy lies in shifting the focus from project-based cooperation to ecosystem co-building,” Liu said. “Instead of fragmented, one-off supportive measures, it covers the entire industrial chain, spanning creation, production, and distribution. It also extends backing to emerging formats, such as cultural bonded services and the overseas expansion of film and television content.”
Liu believes Shenzhen and Hong Kong have enormous space for collaboration in the cultural industry, given their complementarity, with Hong Kong boasting internationalized talent, sophisticated finance and a global distribution network and Shenzhen featuring a strong industrial chain, technological capabilities and the massive mainland market.
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The policy is not only a breakthrough for the film and television sector, but also for the cultural tourism sector, creating synergies for both, Liu added.
He suggested that a shared database of film and TV shooting locations and tourism resources be established, which would enable film and TV productions to locate suitable filming resources more easily, while allowing travel agencies to turn popular film and TV IPs into themed tour routes more quickly.
“This synergy will not only drive economic gains, but also further boost the popularity and vitality of film and TV IPs, fostering a virtuous circle.”
Huang Xiang, founder and chief technology officer of Qianhai-based sports game developer GalaSports, said Qianhai’s latest policy, by providing financial support to enterprises, will help alleviate the company’s financial burden on research and development and boost its confidence and capacity to sustain R&D investment.
While the global sports game market has long been dominated by US and European counterparts, the company has achieved breakthroughs in both domestic and international markets this year and plans to further expand its footprint in overseas markets and host esports events next year, he said.
“The policy support on cultural export and esports is highly timely, and will provide crucial backing for our global expansion,” Huang added.
The entrepreneur also said he has high expectations about boosting collaboration with Hong Kong counterparts. “We are actively exploring opportunities to collaborate with Hong Kong-based film and TV companies as well as cultural and creative institutions, leveraging the policy’s support. For example, we are currently in talks to partner on a Hong Kong-produced football-themed film, with plans to share in-game 3D assets and materials to boost the film’s production efficiency and visual effects,” he said.
An executive at Shenzhen Film Studio said Qianhai could leverage its policy advantages as a free trade zone to promote both its policies and its film and TV environment through multichannel collaboration with various stakeholders, including the Hong Kong Film Development Council, the Hong Kong International Film & TV Market, and Hong Kong-based film and TV enterprises.
The two could also integrate their film and TV resources and jointly set up a production base to produce themed content, the executive added.
