BEIJING: Jackie Chan says letting more Hollywood movies into the Chinese market would put pressure on Chinese filmmakers to boost the quality of their domestic output.
Negotiators from China and the U.S. are expected to reach a new agreement this year on releasing foreign films in China, now the world’s No. 2 movie market after North America.
More Hollywood films would mean more competition for domestic films, which last year accounted for 58 percent of the total box office, or $3.8 billion.
Chan told reporters Tuesday that such spectacular box office growth wouldn’t have happened if Chinese filmmakers had shot their films “behind closed doors without any competition.”
The Hong Kong action star is a member of the official advisory body to the national legislature, which is meeting this week. --AP