China reportedly considering ban on US films in response to Trump tariffs
China is reportedly considering a ban on all US films in retaliation for Donald Trump raising tariffs on Chinese imports.
Earlier today, the White House confirmed that China will be hit with a 104 percent tariff rate from tomorrow after Beijing did not lift retaliatory tariffs on US goods.
Bloomberg News reports that in China, two widely followed bloggers with links to the local authorities shared identical lists of measures that could be introduced by Chinese authorities in response. These include 'reducing or banning the import of US films.'
The bloggers, Liu Hong, a senior editor at the Xinhua News Agency, and Ren Yi, grandson of former Guangdong Province Communist Party chief Ren Zhongyi, both attributed the plans to sources familiar with the Chinese state's planning.
In 2024, US films grossed around $585 million in China. This represents around 3.5 per cent of China's total $17.71 billion box office. A significant proportion of that haul was attributable to the success of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which made $132 million in China.
The total US and Canada domestic box office for the same period was around $8.56 billion.
When global tariffs were initially announced, Trump imposed a 54 percent tariff on Chinese imports. The White House now says that will increase by an extra 50 percent.
The Chinese foreign ministry vowed its country would 'fight till the end' amid reports it is preparing for a US imports block, as it accused America of 'typical unilateralism and protectionist economic bullying.'
Along with the film industry, the US agricultural sector could also be impacted, with China reportedly mulling a total ban on poultry.
The film sector represents a sizeable US trade surplus with China, as Chinese films do not tend to be as popular overseas. However, last month, some American-based Chinese campaigned for animated hit Ne Zha 2 to get an IMAX release in the US.
The animated blockbuster has already landed a release date for 37 territories across Europe, including the UK and Ireland.
Ne Zha 2, made on an $80 million budget, has already become the highest-grossing animated film in history after making $2.06 billion in China, overtaking last year's US-made Inside Out 2, which made $1.7 billion worldwide.
The film is a sequel to the 2019 fantasy adventure Ne Zha, which follows a young boy born with unique powers who teams up with dragon prince Ao Bing to fight demons and save the very community that fears him.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Belgium braces for first F-35 delivery this fall
MILAN — After facing delays, the first F-35A aircraft is expected to arrive in Belgium in the coming months as part of a total order of 34 fighter jets, according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin. In 2018, Belgium selected the American jet and agreed to a €3.6 billion ($4.1 billion) deal for over two dozen of them to be manufactured in the United States. 'Belgium's first F-35 to arrive in country has rolled off the production line and is gearing up for arrival in Belgium this fall,' Lockheed Martin Europe wrote in a social media post on their X platform. Deliveries were initially slated to begin in late 2023, but due to delays in the production of the Joint Strike Fighter program, they were pushed back. In an interview in February with Belgian newspaper Le Soir, Chief of Staff of the Belgian Air Force Gen. Frederik Vansina said the F-35 setbacks also affected the first transfer of the 30 decommissioned F-16s bound for Ukraine. The Belgian F-16s, which have been flying for over 30 years, are intended to be phased out by late 2028 to allow for the delivery of the aging aircraft to Ukraine. The European country currently has over 50 F-16 jets in its arsenal. According to reports from Belgian newspaper De Morgen, Brussels is assessing the possibility of ordering 21 additional F-35s, which, if realized, would bring its total fleet size to 55. The Belgian Ministry of Defense did not respond to a request for comment. Last month, the Belgian Minister of Defense and Foreign Trade Theo Francken said any potential follow-on F-35A purchases could be built in Europe at the final assembly and checkout (FACO) facility in Cameri, Italy.
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'I'm not a porn star': 'Diddy' accuser says she asked to stop sex performances
By Luc Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters) -One of Sean "Diddy" Combs' former girlfriends testified on Monday in the hip-hop mogul's sex trafficking trial that she told him in text messages that she felt mistreated in their relationship and asked to stop taking part in sexual performances with other men. "I'm not a porn star. I'm not an animal," the woman, testifying under the pseudonym Jane to protect her privacy, wrote Combs on October 16, 2023, according to a text message she read aloud in court. "It's loveless for me and nothing satisfies you and you always push me to do more and more." The messages could bolster prosecutors' contention that Combs, 55, for two decades coerced women to take part in the sexual performances, sometimes known as "Freak Offs," against their will. Combs is charged with using physical force and threatening to cut off financial support to get women to take part in the drug-fueled, sometimes days-long performances in hotel rooms while he watched. Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, has pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. His lawyers have acknowledged that Combs was occasionally abusive in domestic relationships, but say the women who took part in Freak Offs did so consensually. Jane, the third alleged sex abuse victim of Combs to testify at his trial in Manhattan federal court, told jurors last week that she was "head over heels" for Combs at the outset of their relationship, which lasted from 2021 through 2024. She testified that most of the time they spent together involved sex performances with male escorts in hotel rooms, even though she wanted to go on dates with just Combs. She said Combs - whose net worth Forbes estimated at above $1 billion in 2022 - threatened to stop paying her rent when she said she wanted to stop having sex with other men. Combs' defense lawyers are due to cross-examine Jane later this week. The trial is in its fifth week. Combs could face life in prison if convicted on all counts. Also known throughout his career as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, Combs turned artists like Notorious B.I.G. and Usher into stars, elevating hip-hop in American culture and becoming a billionaire in the process.
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘The View': Whoopi Questions Whether Trump Admin Is Now ‘Pure Fascism' After Weekend of LA Protests
Following a weekend of protests over ICE raids in Los Angeles being escalated by the Trump administration sending in the National Guard, 'The View' host and moderator Whoopi Goldberg wondered on Monday morning if the country is now experiencing 'pure fascism.' 'What ever happened to states' rights? I thought that was what you do,' she said, kicking off the day's Hot Topics. 'Because you tell the state 'This is what we're thinking of doing,' you know, you don't just send people in. You don't just send troops in.' Each of the hosts agreed, and as the conversation progressed, Whoopi also called out Trump's reinstated travel ban. 'None of the countries that are on this 'you can't come in here' list seem to have done anything of note to keep them from coming in,' she said. 'So, what is it? Are we about state's rights? Are we about keeping people in or out? Are you out because you got here in a different way, because you fled the nation you live in?' 'So what is it? Is this just pure fascism that's happening?' she added. 'Is this what's going on?' Indeed, California governor said on Monday morning that the state will be suing the Trump administration for sending in the National Guard to these protests, which were largely peaceful up until their arrival, and argued that the president 'flamed the fires.' For their part, the hosts of 'The View' agreed there too. 'When you go into the donut shop to look for people, and you're dressed in tactical gear, you're creating an issue,' Whoopi said. 'You're creating a problem.' Host Sunny Hostin concurred, noting that sending in the National Guard should be a last resort, and a means of protecting US citizens, not attacking protestors and journalists. 'There's a very big, stark demarcation of military troops and law enforcement, public law enforcement, civilian law enforcement,' Hostin said. 'And you are — an army turned inside to police its citizens can cause chaos and fascism.' 'If you're telling me, as an American, I can't protest; if you're telling me that I can't come here and try to stay because I'm afraid to go back to my country, that doesn't sound like America to me,' Whoopi finished. 'The View' airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC. The post 'The View': Whoopi Questions Whether Trump Admin Is Now 'Pure Fascism' After Weekend of LA Protests appeared first on TheWrap.
