Political advisors urge leveraging box office boom to spur domestic consumption, cultural exchange

China's national political advisors working in the film sector have called for efforts to leverage the industry's momentum, with box office exceeding 28 percent of the global total so far this year, to boost domestic consumption and promote cultural exchanges with other countries.

Members of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top political advisory body, shared their views during the sector's group discussion on the sidelines of the ongoing fourth session of the ongoing "two sessions," with the other being the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), the country's supreme organ of state power.

Since the beginning of this year, the Chinese film market has maintained strong growth, with total box office revenue approaching 11 billion yuan (about 1.59 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for over 28 percent of the global market. The total output value of the country's entire industry chain has already exceeded 150 billion yuan (about 21.13 billion U.S. dollars) this year.

With box office surpassing North American by approximately 2.5 billion yuan, China's film sector continues to lead the international movie market, underpinning the global film industry's recovery.

The government work report delivered by Chinese Premier Li Qiang on March 5 called for efforts to promote outstanding works in fields such as the press, publishing, radio, television, film, literature and art, and to extend the global reach of cultural products.

CPPCC members have offered suggestions and proposals on promoting high-quality creation, industry integration and development, and talent cultivation in China's movie industry, as part of efforts to build the country into a cultural powerhouse.

Fu Ruoqing, chairman of China Film Group, said that more efforts will be made to promote the development of movie-related areas beyond film production.

"As a member of film crew, we are incredibly proud. We aim to expand and develop in areas like cinematic culture and beyond, once again expressing thankfulness to the audience," he said.

Action star Donnie Yen noted that martial arts movies enjoy international recognition and that he will continue to dedicate himself to the genre.

"Martial arts movies have long influenced global cinema and continue to set trends. I hope to create more influential action films while I still have the energy," he said.

Actress Zhang Kaili said that Chinese movies have become increasingly popular worldwide, helping bridge cultural gaps.

"A single film can reach a global audience, and more importantly, it allows them to understand the changes in China, learn about our culture, and develop an interest in it, because I know that more and more foreign friends are coming to China," she said.

Domestically, under the banner of a "film economy promotion year," China has promoted cross-sector initiatives linking movies with catering, shopping, transportation and themed merchandise, driving up consumption.

Overseas, China has launched its 2026 "China Travel with Chinese Films" event, which promotes tourism routes linked to filming locations and story settings, boosting international tourists' interest in traveling to the country.

Political advisors urge leveraging box office boom to spur domestic consumption, cultural exchange

Highlighting the "Future Energy" as a key direction for China's strategic emerging industries, the country's nuclear energy development, guided by its three-step strategy, has seen major strides in the past year, said a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

In a recent press briefing, Xin Feng, also deputy general manager of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), updated the media on the progresses China has achieved under the strategy.

"China's three-step strategy for nuclear energy development -- from the thermal reactor to the fast reactor and the fusion reactor -- was formulated in 1983 as a medium- and long-term plan. For the thermal reactor, over the past year, our 2.0 version of the Hualong One technology has been approved. This is a unified and fully self-owned intellectual property based third-generation nuclear power technology solution. And the Linglong One small modular reactor also successfully completed its cold-state functional test last year and is expected to be put into commercial operation this year," he said.

For the second and third steps, Chinese researchers and engineers have achieved milestones in the past year with the government support, Xin noted.

"Then for the fast reactor, last year, a closed-cycle system for an integral fast reactor successfully achieved preliminary standard design. We will continue to solve its engineering technology challenges. As for the fusion reactor, in 2025, with national support, we established the China Fusion Energy Company in Shanghai. And our Huanliu-3, a platform for conducting research and development of fusion technology, made a big stride, with an iron temperature in it achieving 117 million Celsius and an electron temperature reaching 160 million Celsius. We will continue to adhere to the development strategy and focus on technological research and engineering technology development," Xin said.

The fourth session of the 14th NPC and the fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC kicked off in Beijing on March 5 and March 4, respectively.

The "two sessions" -- which refer to the annual meetings of China's supreme organ of state power, the National People's Congress (NPC), and its top political advisory body, the National Committee of the CPPCC -- are a key event on the country's political calendar and offer a window into the country's development direction.

China's nuclear energy development makes great strides with three-step strategy: CPPCC member