The Chinese's almost complete lack of understanding of basic economic principles shows up even in the realm of films. The economy is not a zero sum game! Just because I have seen one film, that does not mean I won't go see another. In fact, there is a good chance that if I have a good film-going experience, I will want to go watch more films. The presence of American films does not prevent people from seeing Chinese films. The only reason one would want to restrict the number of films coming from someplace else is if your own films are so bad that nobody would watch them otherwise. Competition only works to make things better. And yes, this does include movies. If you don't believe me, just think about what kinds of films would be out there if one company were to be given a complete monopoly over film-making. You would have to watch whatever crap they wanted to put out. And there is little doubt that it would be mostly crap that they would put out. The Chinese HAVE to get out of this mentality that the economy is a zero-sum game. This belief explains many of their actions of late, and it also does not bode well for their future, as their economy will necessarily, after a while, stagnate as they continue to work against the economies of other countries around the world, thinking wrongly that that will help their own.
And now, for a moment of transparency: I do have a financial interest in the Chinese government changing its attitude, since I do own quite a bit of stock in Chinese companies, and I do want those stocks to grow.
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