- cross-posted to:
- worldnews@lemmy.ml
- cross-posted to:
- worldnews@lemmy.ml
Hours after Donald Trump imposed record 125% tariffs on Chinese products entering the US, China has announced it will further curb the number of US films allowed to screen in the country.
The move mirrors the potential countermeasure suggested by two influential Chinese bloggers earlier in the week, warning that “China has plenty of tools for retaliation”.
Both Liu Hong, a senior editor at Xinhuanet, the website of the state-run Xinhua news agency, as well as Ren Yi, the grandson of former Guangdong party chief Ren Zhongyi, posted an identical proposal involving a heavy reduction on the import of US movies and further investigation of the intellectual property benefits of American companies operating in China.
China is the world’s second largest film market after the US, although in recent years domestic offerings have outshone Hollywood imports. However, Thursday’s measure comes as a significant blow to western studios, with Bloomberg reporting shares of Walt Disney Co, Paramount Global, and Warner Bros Discovery Inc all suffering an immediate decline.
Last week, the newly released A Minecraft Movie from Warner Bros topped the Chinese box office with ticket sales of $14.5m – around 10% of the global total. In 2024, the highest-grossing US film released in China was Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which took $132m in that territory, towards a global total of $572m.
The first US film was approved for Chinese release 31 years ago, with the number peaking at more than 60 in 2018. Since then it has declined, according to data from the Chinese ticketing service Maoyan Entertainment, thanks to escalating tensions and the increased popularity of homegrown movies.
Animated fantasy film Ne Zha 2, about a child battling monsters from Chinese mythology, was released in late January and has now taken $1.8bn in China, and $20m in the US.
This is a pretty narrow-minded view of Chinese culture. They have positive attributes, too, you know.
They could easily be saying the same for us and “Free Palestine! End Israeli Apartheid! Dismantle the US Armaments Industry that arms and harms the world! Stop exploitation capitalism!” We export good and bad values, too.
What you’re suggesting is what Trump wants anyway, for us to become fully isolationist and to never experience any other nations culture. He wants North Korea levels of control and you’d be happy to hand it to him, it sounds like.
The people absolutely do. It’s the government that’s the biggest problem. Same with Russia and the USA. Frankly, most people on Earth probably just want their work, their bread, and their circuses, and to be left alone outside of that. But there’s a problem - their government stands between us, and sets down rules that oppose those things - like the issues I brought up, among others. I care that they’re oppressive and censorious. I also feel that way about the US federal government, and European governments too.
I don’t hate the people - I try not to really hate anybody. I just don’t want their government’s enforced morals having an impact on the media I enjoy.
A fair take, and agreed. Thank you kindly for clarifying.
Relevant Marjane Satrapi quote:
I enjoyed parts of Persepolis when I read it the first time. Mind you, that was at the same time for me that In The Shadow of No Towers was still too painful, and I had tried to engage with Maus. I need to go back to it.
She is basically right about people, in my experience.