Media regulation in China and its impact on foreign companies

This is an updated edition of the original report which was published in February 2008.

The key starting point of any discussion of media regulation in China is the fact that the government in Beijing remains firmly in charge of market. The government's objective is to maintain control of content and, by extension, all forms of media; print, broadcast, events and the Internet.

It is important to recognize that the Chinese government currently does not view media as an industry or a market. Instead, it is seen as both a potential threat that could be used to undermine government policies and a potential tool useful in the formation of public opinion and promotion of government policy. This view informs much of Beijing's regulatory policy.

A recent WTO court case underscores this point. According to the China Law Blog (CLB) , the U.S. has a strategy of using WTO court cases as tool to attempt to pry open media markets in China. However, CLB is not optimistic about the chances of this strategy succeeding.

"...This attempt to open the market for media products will fail. The Chinese government does not see media and ideas and the rest as a "market". They see it differently. They see it as an impediment to government control. Accordingly, they have no intention of ever opening this "market". Consistent with this basic viewpoint, China makes no attempt to seriously protect its own media. Chinese film, TV, books, magazines, music, visual arts and the rest are routinely pirated and the associated businesses and artists are left undeveloped and in poverty. That is changing in small increments, but not in any serious way."

China Law Blog notes that the protection of patents, trademarks and designs are improving as the central government can see how a strong enforcement of these can benefit the manufacturing export giant that China has become. However, Beijing remains deeply suspicious of media products as a potential threat to governmental authority.