In April 2007, the Shanghai International Cultural Service and Trade Platform (ICTP) was founded in the Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone (SWFTZ). In October 2011, the ICTP was formally named the National Base for International Cultural Trade (NBICT) by the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China.
Up to now, the NBICT has brought together over 500 cultural enterprises and related industries, including some international leading giants, such as Sony.
NBICT has recently launched a number of projects at home and abroad, promoting the export of Chinese cultural products and services to the world. In January 2017, Happy Spring Festival — cultural trade promotion activities between China and Singapore were held in Singapore. A range of Chinese exhibits such as porcelain, sand, pottery, poetry, paintings and embroidery, decorated with festive elements, attracted many visitors to learn about and appreciate the beauty of Chinese culture, facilitating exchange and cooperation between the cultural industries of different countries. The Nyonya porcelain, representing Chinese Minghui culture, was most favoured by visitors from Singapore, as cultural objects originating from the same root. The Chinese Red objects were all sold out on the spot and more orders were placed with Chinese domestic markets. Some exhibits were even considered for the Peranakan Museum collection.
The NBICT held the first China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone Cultural Licensing Fair (CCLF) in 2014. Themed as a "New Crossover Licensing Business Format for the Digital Era", CCLF 2017 attracted more than 130 cultural enterprises from 16 other countries, such as Russia, Poland and Israel, and 16 Chinese provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang. They collected exhibits from more than 200 popular IP brands, such as Lanting Elf, inspired by the culture of Orchid Pavilion calligraphy, and Pea Planet, supported by AR and 3D technologies, along with nearly ten thousand brand spin-offs.
Committed to the promotion of international cultural trade, NBICT, based on its traditional exhibition mode, will make further efforts to explore innovative projects for cultural exchange and commerce, with a focus on "Going Global" combined with the "Introduction" strategy, aiming to help China's cultural industry connect with international markets and bring Chinese culture to the world.
Picture: Nyonya porcelain