China to losen state control over publishing by 2010?
The Chinese internet platform Danwei reports, quoting an article in China Youth Daily, that the Chinese government is set to abandon direct control over most publishing companies by the end of 2010.
The goal is to allow „for profit“ media companies to get rid of direct state control, to end state restrictions on the allocation of ISBN, and to encourage the forming of „six or seven internationally-recognized press and media companies that are domestic leaders with assets and sales each over 10 billion yuan.“ (Original quote in Chinese)
After experimenting already with IPOs of state controled publishing groups since 2008, and with more or less independent „creative agencies“ acting as defacto publishing companies, or at least, as – partly very successful – imprints, this next move could be decisive in pushing China’s publishing industry internationally from being only a big buyer of copyrights into a real player in the global cultural industries.