China's Entertainment and Media Industry: Growth and Opportunities

You hear that China is now the biggest market for games, one of the largest for cinema, and the testing ground for short-video selling. The question for a Gulf business is simpler: where in China's entertainment and media industry can you actually buy, sell or partner, and what stops foreigners at the door? By the end of this guide you will know the size of each segment, the rules that shape entry, and the practical routes open to you.

How big is China's entertainment and media market?

According to PwC's Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2024-2028, China Summary, total revenue in China's entertainment and media industry will reach about USD 576.2 billion by 2028. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.5% is higher than the global average of 3.9% over the same five years.

The growth is uneven. Online advertising and video games grow fastest, streaming grows steadily, and cinema is still recovering. Each segment offers a different entry point, so read them separately rather than as one market.

Online advertising and short video

China's online advertising market kept growing steadily in 2024. As local policies and regulations become clearer, growth is expected to settle at a stable pace. PwC estimates the market will reach about USD 215.8 billion by 2028, with a CAGR of 10.8%.

Three factors drive this growth:

• Rapid development of internet technology and a mature value chain from content creators to agencies and platforms.
• More varied short-video advertising formats, from sponsored clips to live-stream selling.
• Data computing on short-video social platforms, which places ads more precisely.

As digital lifestyles spread, mobile internet penetration in China will pass 90%, which supports further advertising growth. Online video advertising is the fastest-growing part of the market. It is expected to reach 27% of total online advertising revenue by 2028, with a CAGR of 12.9% over five years.

What this means for you

If you want to sell Gulf products such as dates, perfume, oud or tourism packages to Chinese consumers, you will reach them through Douyin, Xiaohongshu and WeChat, not through Western platforms. Foreign brands usually start through cross-border e-commerce stores or a Chinese company that can sign contracts with local agencies and influencers. The live-selling methods perfected in China also work at home, since TikTok and Douyin share the same owner and many of the same formats. Before you list dates or other food, check how to export food to China.

Streaming and over-the-top (OTT) video

With AI and 5G, China's OTT video market is developing steadily, with an expected CAGR of 4.7% from 2023 to 2028. Membership management through TV interfaces has become a major trend on large screens, and the integration of IoT devices with OTT platforms has widened use cases and made content feeds more precise.

OTT subscriptions are expected to rise by about 55 million by 2028, from 423 million in 2023 to 478 million. For Arab producers, Chinese platforms rarely buy Arabic-language content, but Chinese dramas and animation are increasingly licensed, dubbed or subtitled for Middle East audiences. That licensing flows from China outwards, and Gulf distributors can take part in it.

Video games and esports

China is the world's largest video game and esports market. By the end of 2023 it had 668 million players. PwC expects total revenue to grow at a CAGR of 13.3% and reach USD 122.8 billion by 2028.

• In 2024 China overtook the United States to become the world's largest video game market.
• By 2028 China's market is expected to earn about 47% more revenue than the United States.
• Esports featured as eight medal events at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou in September 2023.

Cultural industry policy and stronger in-house research and development have made Chinese games far more competitive abroad. In August 2024, Black Myth: Wukong, the first domestic AAA game, developed by Game Science, was praised in China and internationally. The Gulf is already part of this story: Saudi Arabia hosts large esports events in Riyadh, and Chinese studios and teams take part. The full picture is in our guide to China's gaming industry and its growth opportunities.

Cinema and live entertainment

As domestic consumption recovered, cinema became a visible indicator of offline spending, alongside the travel indicators in our China tourism recovery dashboard. China's box office recovered by 83% to USD 7.81 billion in 2023, which was 24.14% of global box office revenue. In the first quarter of 2024:

• The domestic cinema market continued its steady recovery.
• Box office revenue reached CNY 14.36 billion, up 3.14% year on year.
• Cinema attendance reached 364 million, up 8.15% year on year.

Cinema revenue is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.15% from 2023 to 2028. China's weight in global box office rankings has increased, and domestic films still dominate local takings. In 2023, 1801 new screens were added, and more are expected. Production capacity keeps improving, exhibition grows steadily, and the industry's international influence is widening.

The equipment behind the screens

For many Gulf buyers the most direct opportunity is equipment. Shenzhen is the centre for LED display panels, and Guangzhou's Panyu and Huadu districts supply stage lighting, sound systems, arcade machines and amusement rides. New cinemas, malls and entertainment venues across Saudi Arabia and the UAE buy these in volume. Order samples, check brightness, pixel pitch and heat tolerance, and have units inspected before shipment through a product sourcing service or your own team.

How to enter China's entertainment and media market

What rules limit foreign involvement?

China keeps tight control over content. Its foreign investment negative list prohibits or restricts foreign ownership in news, broadcasting, publishing and much of film production. Games need a licence from the National Press and Publication Administration before release. Foreign films enter under an annual quota for revenue-sharing titles, commonly cited at 34. In practice, foreigners take part through licensing, co-production, advertising services, technology supply and trade in equipment, not through owning media outlets. The same list is loosening faster in other sectors, such as China's healthcare industry.

The open doors are wider than they look. Equipment, software and advertising services face few ownership limits, and Chinese studios actively look for partners who can take their games, dramas and animation into Arabic-speaking markets. Localisation, dubbing, regional publishing and event organisation are all services Chinese firms buy rather than build.

Steps to take

1. Choose your route: selling to Chinese consumers, licensing Chinese content out, supplying technology, or importing equipment.
2. Check the rules for that route. Content and platforms are regulated; equipment trade and advertising services are far more open.
3. Decide whether you need a Chinese company. Contracts with Chinese agencies, influencers and platforms are much easier with a local entity and a Chinese bank account.
4. Register your trademark in China before you promote anything, since China grants marks to whoever files first.
5. Test with a small campaign or a sample order, measure the result in numbers, then scale.

Allow realistic time. A Chinese company usually takes 4 to 8 weeks to set up and open a bank account, a trademark filing takes around 12 months to register, and a first equipment order takes 20 to 40 days to produce plus sea freight. Budget for the test phase as a cost of learning, not as a sales channel. The wider technology context is set out in investment opportunities in China's technology sector.

Common mistakes

• Treating China as one market. Advertising, streaming, games and cinema have different rules and buyers.
• Planning to promote in China with Instagram, YouTube or Google, which are not accessible there.
• Signing influencer or agency deals without a Chinese contract party, leaving you no practical recourse.
• Promoting a brand before registering the trademark in China.
• Buying LED screens or lighting on price alone without testing brightness, heat tolerance and spare-parts supply.

What to do next

This week, pick one route and write down what success looks like in numbers: units sold, screens installed or content licensed. If you want to sell to Chinese consumers, list the three platforms you will use and ask two agencies for a quote. If you are buying equipment, request specifications and samples from three factories in Shenzhen or Guangzhou. HiGreenPanda helps Gulf firms plan e-commerce and platform launches in China from its offices in Shenzhen and Shanghai. Whatever the route, file your trademark before you spend on promotion.