Trump dismissed Beijing’s retaliation, saying ‘I think I’ve heard of worse things.’
China’s communist regime is retaliating against U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods by restricting imports of Hollywood films, a move dismissed by President Donald Trump.
The Chinese regime’s National Film Administration announced on its website on April 10 that it would “moderately reduce” the number of U.S. movies allowed into the Chinese market, claiming that the Chinese audience’s interest in them “will inevitably be reduced” following the escalation of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.
Trump was asked about his reaction to the Chinese regime’s retaliatory move against American films, while fielding questions from reporters on Thursday.
“I think I’ve heard of worse things,” Trump responded.
As of April 11, the Trump administration’s tariffs against Chinese goods totalled 145 percent, and Beijing retaliated with 125 percent tariffs on U.S. goods.
China, home to the world’s second-largest film market, allows only 34 foreign films to be screened annually.
Chris Fenton, author of “Feeding the Dragon: Inside the Trillion Dollar Dilemma Facing Hollywood, the NBA, and American Business,” said restricting Hollywood films was a “super high-profile way to make a statement of retaliation with almost zero downside for China.”
U.S.-made films account for only 5 percent of overall box office receipts in the Chinese market, Fenton said. And Hollywood studios receive only 25 percent of ticket sales in China, compared with double that in other markets, Fenton added.
Fenton said China’s move will “surely be noticed by Washington.”
Seth Shafer, principal analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan, estimated that China’s restrictions would have a limited impact.
“Only roughly 25 percent of domestic wide-release films are now released in China, and that percentage has dropped steadily over time due to increasing competition from China’s local film production industry,” Shafer said.
“For domestic films that do get a release in China, typically less than 10 percent of the film’s global gross box office revenue comes from China.”
By Frank Fang
