China's 2012 cultural product exports exceed $20b

BEIJING -- The export volume of China's cultural products totaled $21.73 billion in 2012, an increase of 16.3 percent year on year, Minister of Culture Cai Wu said Thursday.

Cai said the cultural industry's output last year exceeded 4 trillion yuan ($650 billion), calling for further efforts to promote the sector's development.

He said the government will provide preferential financial, fiscal, taxation and land policies for cultural enterprises, as well as allow more private capital to enter the sector.

Cai called for more breakthroughs in cultural restructuring, saying that some cultural institutions that have turned into companies still rely heavily on government support and are not well adapted to market competition.

Cultural industry restructuring has been under way since 2006 with the aim of turning state-funded cultural institutions into profitable companies.