Written by Li Yizhi / Translated by Xu Zhiliang

Emerging Trends in ASEAN-China Media Cooperation

Written by Li Yizhi / Translated by Xu Zhiliang

Media, known as a means for cultural communication, contributes to the enhancement of people-to-people bonds. With the combination of superior resources of media in both ASEAN countries and China, cultural exchanges between the two sides are bound to be more accessible.

In recent years, a wide range of exchanges and cooperation related to radio, film and television have been conducted successfully in ASEAN countries and China. In particular, under the framework of CAEXPO, the two sides have been steadily improving cooperative mechanisms, deepening exchanges of news coverage and programs, and launching joint interviews, co-production and personnel training. Furthermore, marked headway has also been made in cooperation related to contents, technologies and industries.

During the 13thCAEXPO, China-ASEAN Roundtable on Radio, Film & TV Cooperation was concluded successfully, highlighting the future directions of ASEAN-China media cooperation, as well as the latest progress of “in-depth cooperation” between the two sides.

Films & television serials: Transforming from playing dubbed films to developing coproduction

Playing fi lms & television serials is one of the highlights of ASEAN-China media cooperation. At present, bilateral cooperation in this field remains fairly dynamic. A number of Chinese audiences, for example, are fond of some films & television serials produced by ASEAN countries, including Thailand’s First Love (a film also known as A Crazy Little Thing Called Love) and The Princess (a television serial), and Malaysia’s television serial named In-Laws Press Conference.

Likewise, many Chinese television serials like Romance of the Three Kingdoms have been remarkably popular in ASEAN countries, especially in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. In particular, cultural products based on

Romance of the Three Kingdoms, such as electronic games and novels, have been produced in Vietnam. In addition, in response to the rising demands of ASEAN countries, a variety of modern Chinese television serials such as Horse Home Happy Memories and Beijing Youth had been dubbed by Guangxi TV Station into Vietnamese and Thai successively between 2014 and 2015.

“In my childhood I used to watch Princess Pearl (a Chinese television serial also known as My Fair Princess); meanwhile, I also like another one called Empresses in the Palace very much,” said Yang, an overseas student from Vietnam. Now, China International Television Corporation (CITC) has reportedly collected all kinds of programs dubbed into 23 different languages, nearly 3,000 hours. Looking to the future, in-depth cooperation based on media would bring considerable benefits to films & television serials produced by both ASEAN countries and China. In response to the changing times, ways of cooperation between ASEAN and China in this field have been subtly transformed from joint investment to co-creation and from cultural exchanges to mutual benefi ts.

At the beginning of 2016, modern television serials produced by PCCW, headquartered in Hong Kong, China, and cooperative partners from China’s Guangdong province and Malaysia entered into a crucial stage. Mr. Yao Kin Chung, senior vice president in charge of PCCW’s release & marketing businesses in Greater China and beyond, noted that people-to-people bonds are thought of as the main reason for trilateral cooperation.“Principals of a Malaysian broadcasting institution showed great interest in this project when discussing the issues involved. In my view, that is because we share similar interests and demands in terms of interpersonal relationships,” added Mr. Yao, “I was born and raised in Malaysia, so I will make my personal experience and knowledge of Malaysia embedded into the production of television serials. Meanwhile, we also welcome other cooperative partners to engage in this project.”

Local channels broadcasting international contents

“Since 2015, we have launched frequently-used channels or exclusive television time for dubbed programs locally through cooperation with several ASEAN countries, attaining the target of exploring the market in collaboration with our cooperative partners,” said Ms. Zhang Lin, deputy general manager of China Radio, Film and Television Programs Exchanging Center of CITC,“the approach to cooperation has also been transformed from one-way program marketing into co-creation of exclusive television time.”

For instance, Hi-Indo, a TV station founded by CITC and its Indonesian partner in May 2016, is aimed at broadcasting films & television programs, including television serials, documentary films, animated cartoons and entertainment programs, to Indonesian audiences in a local manner. For audience ratings, Hi-Indo ranked second compared with local channels of the same category, second to HBO, an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Time Warner. Suprawoto, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology of Indonesia, pointed out that broadcasting programs produced by Hi-Indo has exerted positive influences on Indonesia-China cooperation in media, bilateral relationship, as well as friendship between the two peoples. On top of that, Lost in Thailand, a film produced by China, became the box offi ce champion in the mainland of China in 2012; however, it failed in gaining the same popularity among other countries. For this embarrassing phenomenon, China’s Guangming Daily says that the underlying reason lies in cultural barriers which make domestic and overseas audiences have distinctively different understandings of humor; meanwhile, local television programs of the same kind would help Chinese television programs out of adverse effects caused by cultural barriers.

“Overcoming language barriers does not necessarily equal to removing cultural barriers,” noted Ms. Zhang, adding that CITC has infused local features into programs, besides the production of dubbed programs, thus offering a solution for reference in the face of cultural barriers.

“Local television presenters as guides were invited to engage in cultural programs produced by ETV, the largest South African television channel, obtaining satisfying results,” noted Ms. Zhang. In addition, channels or exclusive television time akin to those of ETV have also been launched in ASEAN countries (including Vietnam and Cambodia), the United Arab Emirates, and the Czech Republic.

Furthermore, the proposal of creating the common community of international television cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative was put forward by CCTV and CITC, with the participation of initial members made up of 42 media & production institutions from 29 countries and regions on five continents. Thus, the approach to media cooperation between China and the rest of the world has evolved from bilateral cooperation into multilateral cooperation aimed at broadcasting on different channels and producing more content-rich programs.

Media laboratory: An active measure for the fusion of traditional and new media

Traditional forms of media are known to be confronted with severe challenged posed by the betterment of current ways of information dissemination, due to the development of Internet technologies. “A number of traditional media forms behind the times, including some western ones, are plagued by tough issues related to sustainable development, because of the lack of a platform suffi cient to counter challenges caused by new media; therefore, we are required to refl ect on how to better integrate new media forms with traditional ones,” said anxiously Mr. Lai Trong Tinh, deputy director of Channel 14 of Vietnam Satellite Digital Television .

As early as 2013, research institutions and experts indicated that network broadcast would play a considerable role in not only the video industry but also the transmission of video, as demonstrated by the booming network broadcast between 2015 and 2016. Mr. Guan Jianwen, then vice president of People.com.cn, believed that both new ways of information dissemination and better communication patterns are constantly emerging, and media organizations in an era of change and reconstruction are being urged to innovate the modes and means of information dissemination, as well as communication forms.

CCTV News Content is a company specializing in telling stories of China to the world by applying communication technologies of new media. General manager of CCTV News Content Mr. Gao Wei proposed to set up a media laboratory in cooperation with ASEAN colleagues who would be interested in this project. “We are expected to learn of emerging trends and ways of media in advance, and of products and services which meet the needs of our users,” said Mr. Gao, “and we would like to seek viable development paths, operating modes and profi t models for new concepts, trends and innovative products, by virtue of the results of frontier researches conducted by research institutions, colleges and universities and organizations involved in media.”

According to insiders, quite a few Chinese media organizations have set up such kind of laboratory, which sets out to create the integrated convergence media comprised of multiple forms of terminals. By doing so, Big Data mining would be carried out more smoothly, and thereby to promote the further analysis of audiences’ habits of watching TV and the production of targeted products.