Film Trade Policy After Chinaʼs Entry Into the World Trade Organisation

Lei Sun; Simon J McKirdy

doi:10.1002/app5.70065

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Film Trade Policy After Chinaʼs Entry Into the World Trade Organisation

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Film Trade Policy After Chinaʼs Entry Into the World Trade Organisation

Lei Sun and Simon J McKirdy

Asia & the Pacific policy studies, Vol.13(1), e70065

2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/app5.70065

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Abstract

Art exhibitions

Aspiration

Censorship

Corpus analysis

Critical discourse analysis

Critical theory

Culture

Discourse analysis

Exhibitions

Festivals

Film industry

Foreign policy

Free trade

Ideology

International

International trade

Keywords

Motion picture industry

Motion pictures

Political discourse

Politics

Propaganda

Public officials

Quotas

Revenue sharing

Socialism

Soft power

Software

State

Success

Trade liberalization

Trade policy

Trade restrictions

This study provides an in‐depth analysis of Chinaʼs film trade policies following its accession to the World Trade Organisation in 2001. It examines the factors behind the limited international success of Chinese films. Through a corpus‐based critical discourse analysis of nine national policy documents (2001–2020), the research investigates how the Chinese government has aimed to develop its domestic film industry while maintaining strict control over cultural trade. It finds a strategic shift toward a state‐regulated socialist cultural market, employing mechanisms such as censorship, licensing, import quotas, and state monopolisation to mitigate the influence of global trade liberalisation. The study also highlights the governmentʼs use of film festivals and exhibitions as tools for political propaganda, aligning them with foreign policy objectives and promoting official ideology. These practices underscore the tension between Chinaʼs aspirations for cultural soft power and its reliance on state control, which may hinder the global appeal of Chinese films.

Details

Title: Film Trade Policy After Chinaʼs Entry Into the World Trade Organisation
Authors/Creators: Lei Sun - North China University of Science and Technology
Simon J McKirdy - Murdoch University, Centre for Biosecurity and One Health
Publication Details: Asia & the Pacific policy studies, Vol.13(1), e70065
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Number of pages: 10
Identifiers: 991005835765307891
Murdoch Affiliation: Centre for Biosecurity and One Health; Harry Butler Institute; Murdoch University
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: International collaboration
Citation topics: 10 Arts & Humanities; 10.99 Literary Theory; 10.99.1136 Cinema
Web Of Science research areas: Area Studies
ESI research areas: Social Sciences, general