Rediscovering the Awakening Dragon, Part II: A Journey to Renaissance

High on the Agenda

To unleash the Eastern Dragon's hidden creativity and gain a soft power commensurate with its growing international status, the Chinese central government has, over the past decade, implemented various "hard" strategies and carried out a series of reforms to inject creative vitality into the increasingly prosperous cultural sector.

The strategy of "actively developing cultural undertakings and industry" was unveiled at the 16th CPC National Congress, and the central government made the decision to promote the "cultural system reform" and work out a plan for the reform.

One year later in 2003, the central government required 35 cultural institutions and nine cities to do cultural reform experiments, marking the beginning of China's cultural system reform.

In 2005, the CPC central committee and the State Council jointly issued Several Opinions on Deepening the Cultural System Reform.

In 2006, China's 11th Five-Year Plan for Cultural Development was released. Explicit guidelines and goals of China's cultural system reform were made, and the reform extended to the whole nation.

In 2007, the 17th CPC National Congress stressed the strategic importance of cultural development and pledged to work out policies to develop cultural industry.

Two years later, in 2009, a historical document, namely the Plan on Reinvigoration of the Cultural Industry, was released by the State Council, indicating that cultural industry in China was elevated to an unprecedented height of strategic position at national level. The document is explicit in saying that private and overseas capital should be encouraged to invest in such sectors as movie production and distribution, broadcasting and publishing, especially in shareholding restructuring of state-owned enterprises.

It was particularly worth noting that, another two years later, in 2011, the 17th CPC central committee adopted the decision on "deepening the cultural sector reform and achieving cultural prosperity" at its sixth plenary session. Several major decisions concerning China's cultural sector development were made at the meeting. The strategic objective of "building China into a socialist cultural power" was established.

In China, once an objective is established and placed high on the agenda of the central government, it will be accomplished.

China's culture sector has witnessed great changes and development, thanks largely to the central government's resolution to transform the budding industry.

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