CHINA: UNITED STATES MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION CHAIRMAN JACK VALENTI LAMENTS CHINA'S FAILURE TO CURB PIRACY AND OPEN UP THE CHINESE FILM INDUSTRY

Record ID: 552258

  • Title: CHINA: UNITED STATES MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION CHAIRMAN JACK VALENTI LAMENTS CHINA'S FAILURE TO CURB PIRACY AND OPEN UP THE CHINESE FILM INDUSTRY
  • Date: 8th April 1996
  • Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (APRIL 8, 1996) (REUTERS) SV JACK VALENTI, U.S. MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION CHAIRMAN, AT NEWS CONFERENCE SCU VALENTI SPEAKING (ENGLISH) SV PRESS PHOTOGRAPHERS SCU VALENTI SPEAKING (ENGLISH) SV REPORTER WRITING SCU VALENTI SPEAKING (ENGLISH) SV REPORTERS TRANSCRIPTS: JACK VALENTI: "THERE ARE A NUMBER OF ILLICIT FACTORIES THAT ARE MANUFACTURING AND ILLEGALLY DUPLICATING SOME OF OUR MOVIES." JACK VALENTI: "WE, THE AMERICAN FILM INDUSTRY, AND INDEED ANY FILM INDUSTRY IS UNABLE TO GET INTO CHINA TO OFFER ITS LEGITIMATE PRODUCT BECAUSE FIRST OF RAMPART PIRACY AND SECOND THE LACK OF THE KIND OF ACCESS THAT IS AVAILABLE. I DIDN'T MENTION... I MENTIONED MARKET ACCESS." JACK VALENTI: "IF YOU SIGN AN AGREEMENT, IF THE U.S. SIGNS AN AGREEMENT WITH OTHER COUNTRIES AND THEY'RE ALL IMPLEMENTED AND YOU SIGN AN AGREEMENT WITH CHINA AND IT'S NOT IMPLEMENTED, THEN WHAT HAPPENS TO THE VALUE OF THE OTHER TRADE AGREEMENTS?"
  • Embargoed: 23rd April 1996 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BEIJING, CHINA
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Crime,Business,International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAE7SWINXR5COJY3B7SW584FPCK
  • Story Text: United States (U.S.) Motion Picture Association chairman Jack Valenti on Monday (April 8) lamented China's failure to keep its year-old pledge to curb piracy and open the Chinese movie market to imported films.
    But he stopped short of endorsing U.S. trade sanctions against China for Beijing's failure to uphold the February 1995 Sino-U.S.
    anti-piracy accord.
    The threat of sanctions is underscored by the visit this week of U.S. Deputy Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky.
    "If the United States signs an agreement with other countries and they're all implemented and then you sign an agreement with China and it's not implemented, then what happens to the value of the other trade agreements?" Valenti said at a news conference on Monday.
    China faced a loss of credibility as an economic power and the threats of a U.S. denial of Most-Favoured Nation trading status and trade sanctions, Valenti said.
    China had met one key condition for success against piracy in enacting substantial copyright laws, but had failed to effectively enforce those laws and allow legitimate sales to meet the demand that pirates fill, he said.
    "There are a number of illicit factories that are manufacturing and illegally duplicating some of our movies," Valenti said.
    He estimated the U.S. film industry's annual losses to pirates at 150 million U.S. dollars, but said financial losses paled in significance to that of the lack of market access, also a key issue on Barshefsky's agenda with Chinese officials.
    "We, the American film industry and indeed any film industry is unable to get into China and offer its legitimate product because first of rampart piracy and second the lack of the kind of access that is available," Valenti said.
    Among China's barriers to movie trade were its unwritten quota of 10 new U.S. movies a year and a 50 percent import tariff on video cassettes, he said.
    Valenti said the U.S. movie industry would invest millions of dollars to build modern cinema complexes and revamp outdated Chinese studios. He said these steps would create thousands of local jobs and make China competitive in the world film business.
    China insists that it does its best to enforce its new copyright and patent laws and has publicly destroyed thousands of pirated goods since January.
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