CGTN: China’s silver screen pivot: Why U.S. tariff policy is to blame

CGTN published an article on how China's new film partnership with Spain contrasts with its cuts to U.S. film imports, exposing the self-defeating impact of America's tariff war – jeopardizing Hollywood's most lucrative foreign market and undermining the country's broader services trade dominance.

BEIJING, April 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- During Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's visit to China on Friday, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on film cooperation, injecting new momentum into bilateral cultural exchanges.

China and Spain will deepen collaboration in the film industry, including joint participation in festivals, mutual screenings, co-productions, and personnel exchanges, according to the MOU inked between China's National Film Administration and Spain's Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts.

The enhanced film partnership between China and Spain stands in sharp contrast to Beijing's announcement of its plan to moderately reduce the number of U.S. films imported.

A spokesperson for the China Film Administration said on Thursday that the adjustment follows market principles and reflects audience preferences, as the United States' recent hikes in tariffs on Chinese imports are bound to impact Chinese audiences' interest in U.S. films.

Following China's signal to cut Hollywood imports, shares of several major U.S. film and media companies fell sharply. The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. saw their stock prices drop by 6.79 and 12.53 percent, respectively.

Analysts attribute the decline to growing fears of being shut out of the world's second-largest film market. Data shows U.S. film releases in China totaled 63 in 2018 and 52 in 2019, generating 19.9 billion yuan ($2.72 billion) combined and commanding over 80 percent of all foreign film revenue in this period. This was one of the best runs for U.S. films in the Chinese box office.

From films to finance and technology, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has failed to acknowledge its massive trade surplus in the services sector with its trading partners when it decided to slap sweeping additional tariffs on imported goods under the pretext of reducing its trade deficits.

The United States is China's largest source of services trade deficits. According to U.S. Department of Commerce, American services exports to China surged from $5.63 billion in 2001 to $46.71 billion in 2023 – a 7.3-fold increase – while the annual services trade surplus ballooned 11.5 times to $26.57 billion, peaking at $39.7 billion in 2019.

The ongoing trade tensions between the U.S. and its trading partners threaten to disrupt its services trade. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has warned that the European Union is prepared to escalate the trade war by targeting U.S. services – a sector where America holds a significant trade surplus with Europe – should negotiations on tariffs fail.

In an interview with the Financial Times, von der Leyen singled out U.S. tech giants as a potential pressure point, signaling Brussels' readiness to impose a digital advertising tax that would directly impact firms like Meta, Google, and Facebook.

The latest China-Spain film collaboration demonstrates China's commitment to sustained openness and willingness to share market opportunities with global partners.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang and the Spanish prime minister, who witnessed the signing of the MOU on Friday, agreed to enhance cooperation on the economy, trade, investment and technological innovation, jointly support free trade and open cooperation and uphold multilateralism.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2025-04-12/China-s-silver-screen-pivot-Why-U-S-tariff-policy-is-to-blame-1Cw1kkpIbni/p.html

Contact: CGTN Email: cgtn@cgtn.com