Shaanxi's cultural industry boosts efforts to work with Shenzhen

Northwest China's Shaanxi province is ramping up its efforts to promote cooperation in the cultural industry with Shenzhen, striving to transform from a "major cultural province" to a "strong cultural province".

Located in Northwest China, Shaanxi province is famous for its historical cultural resources, such as the Terracotta Warriors, known as the eighth wonder of the world. The province also hosts a number of prestigious universities and research institutions.

The economic strength of Shaanxi province has been growing significantly and its business environment has been improving over recent years, Li Wei, deputy head of the publicity department of Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, said Friday at the Shaanxi Cultural Industry Project Promotion Meeting in Shenzhen.

He called on Shenzhen enterprises to take advantage of the sound conditions to invest in his province.

The event is part of the seventh Shaanxi-Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Economic Cooperation Week.

It has also introduced favorable policies to promote the development of the cultural industry, Li said.

Shaanxi and Shenzhen have huge potential for cooperation and bright prospects for development, as the two can complement with each other in terms of advantageous cultural resources, characteristic cultural projects, technology talent, investment environment and more, he said.

According to official statistics, the added value of the cultural industry in Shaanxi province increased from 50 billion yuan in 2012 to 80.25 billion yuan ($12.11 billion) last year, representing a 12.7 percent annual growth on average and accounting for 4.14 percent of the province's total gross domestic product. 

The province set up a cultural industry investment fund in 2014. This year, another fund focusing on television and film production worth 200 million yuan was established.

The number of theaters in Shaanxi has reached 179, with 904 screens. Television and film production organizations in the province have amounted to 361. Every year, more than 10,000 books are published in Shaanxi.

The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by President Xi Jinping with the aim of reviving the ancient Silk Road where Shaanxi played an important role, as well as the construction of free trade areas have brought huge opportunities for Shaanxi, Wu Zhong, deputy head of Shenzhen's publicity department, said.

Meanwhile, with a strong capability for innovation, Shenzhen enterprises have huge market potential, he said.

The two sides have complementary advantages in culture, technology, capital and other aspects. This has provided large space for cooperation between the two sides, Wu said.

Wu urged cultural and technological enterprises from both Shaanxi and Shenzhen to seize opportunities to strengthen cooperation and exchanges in order to achieve a win-win situation.