China to Reduce Hollywood Movie Imports Amid US 'Tariff Bomb'

China has introduced a measure to reduce the import of Hollywood films as a countermeasure against the United States' 'tariff bomb.'

According to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency on the 10th, the China National Film Administration stated in a statement posted on its website that "the import volume of American films will be appropriately reduced." This is interpreted as a retaliatory measure against the U.S. tariff increase on China.

The National Film Administration defined the U.S. tariffs on China as a "wrong act," explaining that "(the U.S. tariff bomb) will lower domestic audiences' favorability toward American films." It also said, "We will take such measures respecting market principles and audience choices," adding, "China is the world's second-largest film market. We always maintain a high level of openness to the outside world and will introduce excellent films from more countries to meet market demand."

China has consistently mentioned reducing and banning American film imports as a response to the U.S. tariff imposition. On the 8th, Newtanqin (牛彈琴), a social media account run by former Xinhua reporter Liu Hong, cited sources saying, "The Chinese government is preparing six major countermeasures against the U.S. additional tariff increase, including a significant increase in tariffs on American agricultural products, a ban on poultry imports, intellectual property investigations targeting American companies with monopolistic positions in China, and the reduction and ban of American film imports."

China limits the number of foreign film imports through a quota system. Last year, 93 newly released imported films premiered in China, the highest number since 2019. The Hollywood blockbuster film Godzilla X Kong: New Empire ranked 9th in China's box office last year. So far, Hollywood blockbusters such as Titanic and Avatar have also been very popular in China.