THE CHINESE government keeps a tight grip on print media and publishers – all newspapers are state-owned and are required to stick to the Communist Party line in what they print, but a senior official said this week that there may be scope for private ownership in this heavily regulated sector.
This may even involve allowing more foreign input into the media and the publishing business – although not the print or TV news media, which must remain in Chinese hands, according to Liu Bingjie, head of the powerful General Administration of Press and Publication (Gapp), which controls the print media.
“Many developed countries hope to be able to enter the Chinese press and publishing business here. Our market is open. We welcome them to come to China to develop the market,” he said in a statement.
“However, our TV and news publication areas are not open, regardless of whether in new or traditional media products,” he said, adding that these areas could only be operated by Chinese companies. Opening up the print media and publishing business to western companies could be a major development in opening up the Chinese market, but there are strict controls on what areas foreigners are allowed to take part in. The government recently introduced legislation which will effectively stop foreign companies from posting TV shows online without permission, for example.
The Chinese market has proven seriously difficult to crack – Rupert Murdoch’s ambitions there have been repeatedly quashed despite regular efforts to boost his company’s position in a potentially huge market.
The global financial crisis has meant China’s print media are finding it hard to compete with international companies, and that has required allowing private capital into the industry, Mr Liu said.
“We introduced this reform policy to speed up the development of the press and publishing industry, to allow the culture of the Chinese nation to be recognised worldwide and disseminated around the globe,” he said.
The new moves would involve getting rid of administrative barriers to development. The aim is for China to build six or seven large print media groups within the next three to five years. The Beijing government plans to set up a 50 billion yuan (€5.6 billion) fund to support small and medium-sized publishers, including privately run cultural workshops, to address the financing problem of the publication industry.
Meanwhile, a new English-language paper published by the Communist Party, the Global Times, hit the news stands this week, part of Beijing's plan to boost China's profile abroad and find an international audience for the party message. The Global Timesis published by the Communist Party's main organ, the People's Daily, which is directly controlled by the party's Central Committee. There are already a number of English-language titles published by the state, including the China Dailyand the Shanghai Daily.