Beijing measures for cultural industry make an impact

A raft of 28 measures for supporting Beijing cultural industry -- unveiled by the publicity department of Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China -- has had a positive impact on the development of Beijing cultural enterprises, according to statement on the website of the State-owned Cultural Assets Administration Center of the People's Government of Beijing Municipality, or SOCAAC, on March 13.

According to SOCAAC officials, during the novel coronavirus epidemic, the number of users of online games, online videos, digital music, online education, knowledge payments, audiobooks and other emerging formats increased rapidly.

They said that four of the 28 measures put forward to inject new energy of the cultural industry's development, have provided direction for cultural enterprises to find new opportunities during the epidemic.

Officials said that recent data showed that the revenue for "culture + Internet" increased by 22.1 percent year-on-year, accounting for 43.8 percent of the total revenue of cultural industry.

At the same time, the introduction and implementation of the measures have also provided great help for the development of online education and e-sports events, they added.

Data shows that in 2019, the total number of users of e-sports in China exceeded 350 million and its industrial scale reached 13.8 billion yuan ($1.91 billion).

Officials said these measures have become guidelines proposed by the local government for the recovery and development of e-sports industry in the wake of the outbreak, helping to provide renewed vigor in the e-sports industry, as well as stimulating demand.

In addition, the measures relating to financial support in the 28 measures cover cultural creative content production, domestic film screening subsidies, support for physical bookstores and preparation for exhibition activities.

They also cover the issuance of consumer coupons for benefiting locals, investment and loan awards and rent subsidies -- all of which will greatly promote the videos and performance industries, exhibitions, tourism, as well as culture and digital content which were affected during the epidemic.