Shanghai rolls out policies to support gaming industry

Shanghai has rolled out a series of policies at the China International Game Developers Conference (CIGDC) to support the gaming industry.

On Friday, ChinaJoy, the last major event of the Shanghai Summer International Animation Month, officially opened.

This year, ChinaJoy introduced the CIGDC for the first time on Thursday, building a platform for global game industry communication. Nearly100 well-known overseas game enterprises from Japan, South Korea, Finland and other countries were invited to attend.

As a major hub of China's gaming industry, Shanghai is also vigorously promoting the overseas expansion of games. At the conference, Shanghai launched a "policy toolkit" covering funds, talents and services.

The metropolis also supports East China Normal University in setting up a game planning major to cooperate with leading enterprises.

"We have established the Research and Service Center for Games Globalization, which provides a full life-cycle overseas expansion service for related game enterprises, including financial support, copyright protection, legal aid, channel development, and information sharing," said Lu Yiwei, director of the Network Publishing Department of the Publicity Department under Shanghai Communist Party of China Central Committee.

At a forum of ChinaJoy, also known as the China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference, on Thursday, leading game companies such as Tencent, NetEase and Perfect World discussed and exchanged views on innovative overseas expansion. It is widely believed that the current AI-driven new quality productivity is the key driving force for China's game industry to shift from "scale expansion" to "quality leap".

"We are extremely proud that our Chinese games have strongly occupied six spots on the global top 10 game list," said Xie Fei, president of Zhejiang Century Huatong Group Company.

"In the era of large models, the technology of AIGC has significantly enhanced our research and development efficiency. The digital entertainment industry, represented by the gaming industry, is the best 'experimental field' for our entire cutting-edge technology," said Yi Di, vice president of Perfect World.

From plot copywriting, 3D modeling to game special effects, the application value of generative AI large models in the game industry has sparked heated discussions. In the first half of this year, the actual sales revenue of the domestic game market reached 168 billion yuan (about 23 billion U.S. dollars), up 14 percent year on year, setting a new record high. Among the top 50 game revenue enterprises in the country, Shanghai accounts for nearly a quarter.

Shanghai rolls out policies to support gaming industry

The multilateral system is "under attack" amid global turmoil, President of the 80th UN General Assembly Annalena Baerbock warned in her remarks on Wednesday.

In her briefing on the priorities for the resumed 80th Session of the General Assembly, the UNGA president noted that the current multilateral system does not collapse all in a sudden, but "crumbles piece by piece" in divisions, compromises, and lack of political commitment.

The president called all the UN member states to defend the UN Charter and international law and promote cross-regional cooperation.

She also urged to push forward the work of the UNGA on certain critical issues with a strong majority, rather than an absolute consensus among all member states. Such act is not a failure of multilateralism, but "an affirmation of it," she said.

The foundational principles of the institution should not be eroded by appeasement, she said, calling the member states to show courage, leadership, and responsibility at the UN's "critical make-or-break moment."

"The UN needs you. Your support, your leadership, your principle, stand, your cross-regional cooperation, if we are to preserve and modernize this institution, if we are to make it, rather than break it," she said.

UNGA President warns global multilateral system "under attack"