Thriving sub-sectors drives growth of culture industries in Q1

Thriving sub-sectors such as creative design services, digital publication, and internet information services were the main drivers of steady growth of China's culture industries in the first quarter of 2025, showed the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday.

According to the NBS data, China's major enterprises in the culture and related industries reported 3.3939 trillion yuan (about 465.2 billion U.S. dollars) in combined operating revenue in the first three months, representing a year-on-year increase of 6.2 percent.

Notably, the operating revenue of companies in news information services, creative design services, and content creation and production rose by 10.5 percent, 8.6 percent, and 7.5 percent, respectively, from the same period in 2024.

New forms of cultural businesses logged rapid expansion in the first quarter, with the combined operating revenue reaching 1.4846 trillion yuan (about 203.5 billion U.S. dollars), or a year-on-year growth of 12.5 percent.

Businesses in sub-sectors such as smart entertainment drone manufacturing, digital publication, and internet advertising services led the way in expansion during the period, growing by 36.8 percent, 19.8 percent, and 16.4 percent, year on year, respectively.

In the first quarter, the combined profits of major enterprises in China's culture and related industries came in at 274.4 billion yuan (about 37.6 billion U.S. dollars), up by 29.1 percent from the same period of last year. The main drivers of profit growth included sub-sectors such as digital content services, internet information services, and internet cultural and entertainment platforms.

The NBS data came from a survey of cultural companies with annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan (about 2.74 million U.S. dollars) or those meeting other standards set by the agency.

The U.S. dollar weakened in late trading on Friday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, dropped 0.34 percent to 98.982 at 15:00 (2000 GMT).

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1606 dollars from 1.1583 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound added to 1.34 dollars from 1.3328 U.S. dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 157.74 Japanese yen, lower than 157.77 Japanese yen in the previous session. The U.S. dollar decreased to 0.777 Swiss francs from 0.7827 Swiss francs, and it declined to 1.3596 Canadian dollars from 1.3697 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar dropped to 9.1855 Swedish Kronor from 9.2657 Swedish Kronor.