The 2nd China (Shenzhen) International Culture Industry Fair (ICIF) 2006 will be held in south China's Shenzhen city from May 18 to 21 next year. The annual event is co-sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the General Administration of Press and Publication, Guangdong provincial government and Shenzhen municipal government.

Under the theme of "innovation and technology", eight major exhibitions will be staged on the 105,000 square meter venue in the newly-built Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center, with focuses on trading of China cultural industry achievements, animation and game, media technology, international performing arts, Chinese publications, vocational education, creative design and arts and crafts.

At the press conference in Beijing on August 11 for the event, Mr. Xu Zongheng, mayor of Shenzhen, pledged to make the only national fair for the cultural industry a platform to facilitate the information exchange, products showcasing and trading for the cultural industry through the market-oriented operation and specialized services to be offered by the organizers.

He stressed that the cultural industry had become Shenzhen's new economic growth point and would be made one of the pillars for the local economy.

He highlighted ICIF's role in boosting the exports of China's cultural products. "The fair is designed to showcase the charm of China's cultural industry and the potential of China's cultural market", he said. He disclosed that a database of international buyers would be in place. "Trading is one of the purposes of why we have ICIF and that distinguishes the ICIF 2006 from the debut of the event in 2004," Xu noted.

China suffers a considerable deficit in the foreign trade on cultural products because its cultural industry does not cater for the interests of the international market and overseas consumers. The lack of talents and intermediaries familiar with the operation on the international market is also a problem. The proportion between the imports and exports of copyright trade in China has reached 10.3 to 1.

The country has taken some measures to improve the situation, including financial support to key audio and visual businesses. And ICIF is part of the efforts on building an integrated industrial chain.

China has promulgated three regulations this month on the trade and investment of the cultural business. It encourages foreign capital to participate in China's cultural industry as a move to honor the country's WTO commitment while cautiously protecting its cultural security by regulating the market order and controlling the investment scale.

By People's Daily Online