China's sci-fi industry saw accelerated growth in 2023, generating a total revenue of 113.29 billion yuan (about 16 billion U.S. dollars), according to a report released on Saturday.
The revenue represented year-on-year growth of 29.1 percent, according to the 2024 China Science Fiction Industry Report, which was made public at the eighth China Science Fiction Convention in Beijing.
In breakdown, sci-fi games contributed the bulk of the total revenue, accounting for 65 billion yuan (around 9 billion U.S. dollars), up 15 percent year on year.
Sci-fi cultural tourism earned 31 billion yuan (about 4 billion U.S. dollars), surging 106 percent from the year before.
Meanwhile, sci-fi films and TV works raked in 11 billion yuan (roughly 1.5 billion U.S. dollars), marking a yearly increase of 38 percent.
"It can be seen from these figures that China's sci-fi industry still has huge room for development," commented Vladimir Imamovich Norov, the former minister of foreign affairs of Uzbekistan, who also attended the convention. The industry's 2023 revenue was more than 10 times the 2016 figure of nearly 10 billion yuan (around 1.41 billion U.S. dollars), reported industrial insiders, adding that China's sci-fi industry is ushering in a period of exponential expansion, riding on a tech boom and the success of screen adaptations of domestic sci-fi literature.
China's sci-fi industry rakes in over 113 bln yuan in 2023
China-Cambodia ties received a boost from Chinese investments in Cambodia's nascent new energy industry on Thursday, as the Cambodian Confederation of Investors Association hosted an event in the capital city of Phnom Penh to welcome these new investments.
The association is expected to better coordinate among ministries and enterprises to start this fresh phase of new energy investment.
Addressing delegates at the ceremony, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet emphasized his government's strong focus on foreign investments in Cambodia, especially in the private sector.
He said Cambodia and China are engaged in close economic cooperation and promised that the Cambodian government will try its best to create a better business environment and solve problems. In recent years, several Chinese companies in the new energy technology and electric vehicle (EV) sector – including the Huaneng Group, Great Wall, BYD and Midea – have started building infrastructure in Cambodia.
"China-Cambodia trade relations have prospered in recent years. We've chosen to invest in new energy projects in Cambodia, including factories and charging equipment. We believe the investments in industries in Cambodia will further improve China-Cambodia friendship," said He Dong, president of ZM Trucks China.
For Cambodia, Chinese investment in electric vehicles and renewable energy plants offers an opportunity to benefit from technology transfers and industrial upgrading.
It would also help Cambodian businesses, create employment opportunities and improve people's living conditions.
"We welcome the investment very much because it helps Cambodia's economic development. It creates more job opportunities for Cambodians and is also good for the environment," said Kun Thai, general chairman of Cambodia Confederation of Investors Association.
The association is working actively with the Chinese new energy sector – to get more companies into Cambodia, and a wave of investment that will usher in positive changes.
Cambodia welcomes more Chinese investment in new energy industry
