China is witnessing a colorful 2025 summer movie season with more than 60 new domestic and international productions in a variety of genres, spanning historical drama, suspense, action, comedy, and animation, reflecting the growing diversity and artistic range of Chinese film industry.
As of Thursday afternoon, the box office revenue, including presales, exceeded one billion yuan (about 139.09 million U.S. dollars) for the summer movie season, which runs from June through August, according to box office tracker Beacon.
"Films for this summer movie season are rich in terms of genres and themes, showing that Chinese movies have made progress in artistic creation when portraying lives of contemporary Chinese and telling historical events," said Yin Hong, vice chairman of the China Film Association.
Among the standout domestic releases is The Lychee Road, a comedy adapted from a novel by Ma Boyong that follows a Tang Dynasty beadle on a mission to deliver lychees to the imperial court.
Historical war film Dongji Island revisits a little-known WWII rescue mission, where local fishermen saved hundreds of British POWs off China's eastern coast from a Japanese cargo ship that was sunk by a U.S. submarine.
In animation, Strange Tales: Lanruo Temple draws from the classic Strange Tales, linking five iconic folk stories through a central narrative structure, including ghostly love story Nie Xiaoqian and Painted Skin, a tale of a demon disguised as a beautiful woman.
China witnesses colorful 2025 summer movie season
Spanish students have expressed their expectation that a healthy China-U.S. economic and trade relationship will inject greater stability into the global economy and create greater opportunities for Spain.
On Sunday, Chinese and U.S. delegations convened in Paris, France for talks on economic and trade issues. Guided by the consensus reached by the two heads of state in Busan and their subsequent phone talks, the two sides will conduct consultations on economic and trade matters of mutual concern.
Ahead of the talks, members of the public in Madrid, Spain, shared their views on China–U.S. economic and trade relations with China Media Group (CMG). They agreed that reaching an agreement between the world’s two largest economies would have a direct impact on the global landscape.
"They are the two countries that contribute the most economically, in a manner of speaking, to the rest of the countries. They are major importers and exporters. So I think that a satisfactory relationship between them can be very beneficial for all other countries," said Claudia, an engineering student.
Noting that both sides are important trading partners of Spain, the interviewees stated that a healthy, stable and sustainable China-U.S. economic and trade relationship also affects various aspects of the Spanish society, and that agreements between the two countries would help promote Spain's economic growth.
"I do think that it could have a certain effect on the Spanish economy, both in terms of prices, and I would dare say employment as well. Because I think that if those two great powers reach an agreement, Spain could also get in on the action. It would create quite a few jobs in Chinese and American multinationals for all Spaniards," said Claudia.
"Spain is caught in the middle; it has good relations with both the U.S. and China. If it gets on the bad side of either one, it could be hit hard, because Spain mainly relies on tourism -- well, other things too, but essentially tourism, construction and agriculture. It's very important to have more help and trade with all countries around the world," said Denis, a law student.
Spanish students say stable China-US ties benefit global economy
