U.S. industry insider Dede Nickerson predicts a bright future for film cooperation between China and the United States, which she believes will bring tangible benefits to the film industry of both countries.
With over 25 years of experience living in China, Nickerson has emerged as a key player in bridging the cinematic divide between China and the U.S., facilitating numerous high-profile co-productions between the two film industries. Her portfolio of notable projects includes collaborations with acclaimed director Zhang Yimou on films such as Kill Bill and Hero.
In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) held in Beijing, Nickerson highlighted the massive potential of strategic collaboration between U.S. and Chinese platforms to drive global growth of the Chinese film industry.
"In the winter of 1989, I was asked to be an extra at a film at Beijing Film Studio. Little did I know that I would end up spending much time over the years in my career at Beijing Film Studio as a person in the middle, as a person who I consider myself a bridge builder trying to bring both sides together. If both sides can work together, it can actually serve to make better economics for both," she said.
"If you look at the quality of Chinese films and the quality of Chinese series and the quality of Chinese storytelling through light novels, there's a great opportunity for China today. There's room for some strategic partnerships. If we can get the bigger relationship back on track, there is room for strategic partnerships between the Chinese platforms and the global platforms to bring Chinese content to the world," Nickerson added.
US-China film partnership poised for growth: expert
The Sanya branch of the Peking University (PKU) Hospital of Stomatology based in the tourist resort city of Sanya in south China's tropical Hainan Province -- the country's first national-level regional dental specialty center -- officially opened on Saturday, providing local residents and tourists with access to top-tier dental care without leaving Hainan.
As a key city in the Hainan Free Trade Port and a hub for both tourism and wellness, Sanya has seen rising demand for oral healthcare. Local resources, however, have long been strained.
The newly launched hospital aims to ease the situation. Both its management and medical teams come directly from the main campus of the PKU Hospita of Stomatology in Beijing, ensuring seamless integration and unified standards across diagnoses, treatment, and service quality. The facility comprises of nine specialized buildings, including an emergency outpatient complex and an international medical services building, covering all sub-specialties in dental medicine.
"Since the official start of Hainan Free Trade Port's island-wide special customs operations [on December 18, 2025], the very first zero-tariff items entering the region were advanced dental equipment for our hospital. This enables a wide range of patients in the Hainan region to access the world's latest dental treatment equipment and technology more quickly," said Deng Xuliang, president of the PKU Hospital of Stomatology.
Looking ahead, the main campus of the PKU Hospital of Stomatology will collaborate with medical universities in Hainan to jointly train more specialized professionals for grassroots-level healthcare institutions across the region. Through technical mentorship and integrated training programs, the initiative aims to leverage the policy advantages of the free trade port to build a high-level, comprehensive platform that integrates medical services, education, research, public health, and healthcare management, with particular attention on international patient services and comfort-focused treatment.
"The operation of medical care plus health and wellness programs and of medical care plus tourism projects has jointly contributed to the formation of an internationalized medical care platform in Sanya, which presents a major opportunity for both Sanya and the rest of Hainan, especially as the free trade port enters full operation, making more duty-free medicines and medical devices available locally," said Hu Yulei, director of the Sanya Municipal Health Commission.
Hainan's Sanya opens first national dental specialty center
