Original Title: Notice on Issuing the "Implementation Measures for Promoting the Development of Shanghai's Animation and Gaming Industry"
To implement the “Several Opinions on Accelerating the Innovative Development of the Cultural and Creative Industries” (Shanghai Party Committee Document [2017] No. 33), foster new momentum for the development of the cultural industry, meet the people’s growing spiritual and cultural needs, promote the rapid and healthy development of the city’s animation and gaming industry, and advance toward the goal of becoming a leading global city in the animation and gaming industry, the following implementation measures are hereby proposed to promote the development of Shanghai’s animation and gaming industry.
I. Encouraging Innovative Development of the Industry
1. Vigorously support outstanding original projects. Actively encourage high-quality original animation and game works, including comics, television animation, web animation, online games, mobile games, and other original projects. Encourage the adaptation of domestic original animation, film, television, and literary works into game products. Support and encourage the creation and promotion of original art games; support the organization of competitions for outstanding original art games; and support the hosting of events to share world-class creative concepts for art games.Further diversify the categories of online games and encourage enterprises to develop various types of educational games. Encourage the full exploration of themes rooted in Chinese history and traditional culture, as well as the promotion of excellent traditional culture, to create outstanding original animation and game products.
2. Support the development of content for mainstream-theme works. Support the integration of traditional culture with comic works; using outstanding original enterprises as a driving force and animation industry associations as incubation platforms, encourage the creation of comic works that promote China’s excellent traditional culture and core socialist values.Organize enterprises to actively apply for relevant national projects and protection programs. Provide rewards for original works selected for major national projects such as the China National Online Game Publishing Project and the National Animation Development and Protection Program, as well as for those winning major national awards such as the China Culture and Art Government Award (Animation Category).
3. Enhance the application of innovative technologies in animation and gaming. Boost the industry’s innovation capacity and promote the application of technologies such as VR. Encourage animation and gaming enterprises to develop products that integrate cutting-edge technologies—including VR, AR, MR, AI, and naked-eye 3D—with animation and gaming.
4. Promote high-quality development through industrial integration. Encourage animation and game enterprises to integrate with the performing arts, tourism, education, fine arts, and finance sectors to develop products and services such as animated performances, animation-themed tourism, and animation education.Adhere to a brand-oriented development strategy, vigorously develop new business models such as online animation, animation merchandise, animation-based performing arts, and animation exhibitions, and create high-quality animation products; advance the plan for the healthy development of the gaming industry, strengthen management of content value orientation, establish an evaluation and incentive system, and cultivate Shanghai-based original game brands, teams, and enterprises that meet world-class standards.
II. Optimizing the Layout of Industrial Hubs
1. Promote the development of key animation and gaming industry clusters. Leveraging regions with existing foundations, actively promote the specialized, branded, and distinctive development of key animation and gaming parks to create Shanghai-based animation and gaming industry clusters with regional characteristics, thereby forming a healthy and harmonious industrial layout. Encourage parks to develop public service platforms and provide specialized services such as incubation for small and micro-enterprises, as well as loan guarantees and collateral. Encourage the development of outstanding animation and gaming industry clusters.
2. Strengthen the Construction of Esports Venues and Clusters. Encourage investment in the construction of esports competition venues. Prioritize support for the construction or renovation of 1–2 professional venues capable of hosting top-tier international esports events, and plan to build several specialty experience centers. Encourage the construction of a number of small- and medium-sized professional esports venues for player training and general esports competitions.
3. Diversify and expand the development space for the industry. In line with the national trend of new-type urbanization and the requirements for integrated industrial-urban development, build characteristic towns and cultural experience centers with a distinct animation and gaming industry profile. Encourage the construction of animation and gaming towns and cultural experience centers in Shanghai; provide land use guarantees for animation and gaming industry characteristic towns in accordance with planning requirements; and allocate land through methods such as negotiated land grants or “land with industrial projects” public auctions based on specific project circumstances.
III. Strengthening and Expanding Industry Players
1. Establish a classification and evaluation system for animation and gaming enterprises. Establish a classification and evaluation system for animation and gaming enterprises, and rely on third-party assessment agencies or industry associations to conduct the recognition of “Outstanding Leading Enterprises” and “Outstanding Growth-Oriented Enterprises.” Support eligible high-tech enterprises in applying for the “Science and Technology Little Giant” project.
2. Actively Cultivate Local Enterprises and Attract Leading Enterprises. Actively foster local animation and gaming enterprises and support the incubation of “mass entrepreneurship and innovation” (MEI) enterprises. Attract leading domestic and international animation and gaming enterprises, encouraging them to establish regional headquarters, R&D centers, and corporate technology research institutes in Shanghai.
3. Support the development of small, medium, and micro enterprises in the online gaming and esports sectors. Address development bottlenecks faced by these enterprises by conducting outreach sessions on relevant laws, regulations, and policy measures. Actively promote the development of public service and functional platforms, such as the Shanghai Online Game Publishing Application Service Platform and testing platforms.
4. Further improve the online game industry chain. Actively introduce and cultivate online game publishing companies and platforms to diversify distribution channels for online game titles and reduce promotion costs for locally developed Shanghai games.
5. Support enterprises in “going global.” Support qualified animation and game enterprises in expanding into overseas markets, particularly those along the Belt and Road and in neighboring countries. Encourage outstanding enterprises to expand foreign trade and tap into overseas markets through overseas investment and mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and the establishment of branches. Support local animation and game enterprises in participating in international competitions, exhibitions, and the distribution of animation and game products abroad.Support local animation and game enterprises in actively participating in cooperation in areas such as creativity, technology, management, exhibitions, and talent development, particularly with provinces and cities along the Yangtze River Delta and the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Encourage local animation and game enterprises to develop products tailored to overseas target markets. Encourage outstanding local online literary works to “go global.”
IV. Fostering an Industry Development Environment
1. Encourage participation in the formulation of industry standards. Encourage animation and gaming industry associations and enterprises to actively participate in the formulation of international, national, and industry standards.
2. Implement Relevant Tax Incentives.Support enterprises in the animation and gaming technology sector in obtaining high-tech enterprise certification; corporate income tax for certified high-tech enterprises will be levied at a reduced rate of 15%. Support animation and gaming enterprises providing technology- and knowledge-intensive process outsourcing services in obtaining certification as technologically advanced service enterprises; corporate income tax for certified technologically advanced enterprises will be levied at a reduced rate of 15%. Actual employee education expenses, up to 8% of total wages and salaries, are deductible when calculating taxable income.Eligible research and development expenses incurred by animation and gaming technology enterprises are subject to a 150% pre-tax deduction policy; among these, science and technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises may enjoy a 175% pre-tax deduction in accordance with regulations. Support will be provided to help animation and gaming enterprises obtain certification as animation enterprises; certified animation enterprises may apply to enjoy the current national preferential policy of “two years of tax exemption followed by three years of 50% tax reduction” designed to encourage the development of the software industry.
3. Innovate Financial Services. Commercial banks are encouraged to provide greater financing convenience to animation and gaming enterprises, with priority and focused support given to working capital loans for profitable projects with the ability to repay. Insurance institutions are supported in developing insurance and reinsurance products tailored to the needs of the animation industry.
4. Attracting Social Capital Investment in the Industry. Fully leverage the guiding role of the Cultural Industry Innovation and Entrepreneurship Investment Fund of Funds. Encourage social capital to invest in the animation and gaming industry through the establishment of industrial investment funds and other means, using leverage to attract more market-based capital into the sector.
V. Enhancing Public Platform Services
1. Establish incubation platforms to provide technical services. Encourage industry associations, relevant universities, and enterprises to establish incubation platforms, explore the provision of public technical services, aggregate a portfolio of outstanding animation and gaming products, and cultivate leading Shanghai animation and gaming brands. Encourage the provision of low-cost, high-quality public technical services to animation and gaming enterprises.
2. Establish Industry Exhibition and Trading Platforms. Enhance the caliber of existing major animation and gaming events such as the China International Animation and Gaming Expo, the China International Digital Interactive Entertainment Expo, and the Family Game Developers Conference, while exploring the addition of new events such as the Shanghai Animation and Gaming Licensing Expo.
3. Improve the esports ecosystem. Build a comprehensive esports ecosystem to promote the development of the industrial chain across key segments, including tournament brands, esports products, esports teams, competition venues, and live streaming. Provide comprehensive solutions to attract top domestic and international esports tournaments to Shanghai. Provide support for outstanding esports products, tournaments, teams, and venues.Support 2–4 esports teams that have achieved strong results in domestic and international competitions; pilot the creation of a municipal-level team that represents Shanghai’s standards, style, and image; and establish 1–2 internationally renowned esports event brands. Explore the establishment of an athlete registration system in the esports sector.
4. Establish an industry exchange and sharing platform. Support the hosting of international esports industry summits. In line with the globalization and segmentation trends of online games, focus on forward-looking fields such as the development and application of cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence, and continue to support the hosting of the Shanghai Online Game Elite Summit.
VI. Building a Hub for Industry Talent
1. Thoroughly implement talent policies. Fully implement Shanghai’s “30 Talent Measures” to build a more open and competitive talent environment for the animation and gaming industries. Encourage animation and gaming professionals to come to Shanghai to start businesses and invest, while providing conveniences in areas such as children’s education. Explore including key animation and gaming majors in the list of priority and shortage majors for non-Shanghai graduates seeking employment in Shanghai, enabling them to benefit from policies such as additional points for residence permit applications.
2. Strengthening the Professional Talent Pool. Focus on attracting a group of world-renowned artists and entrepreneurs, and fully implement the “Talent Summit Project” action plan, which emphasizes “tailored, individualized approaches.” Encourage local universities to collaborate with internationally renowned institutions to cultivate various types of animation and game talent through diverse channels. Explore professional title evaluation methods specifically for animation and game professionals. Explore the inclusion of animation and game-related vocational skills training programs in Shanghai’s vocational skills training subsidy catalog.
3. Strengthen Talent Training. Strengthen talent training efforts, support industry associations or professional institutions in conducting business training for local animation and gaming enterprises, and encourage local animation and gaming enterprises to actively participate in various key domestic and international training programs.
VII. Deepen the "Delegation of Powers, Streamlining Administration, and Improving Services" Reform
1. Streamline approval procedures and accelerate review timelines. Strive to reduce the approval time for domestically produced online games to half the national average. Provide Shanghai online game enterprises with interpretations of relevant approval policies and laws and regulations, and conduct regular training sessions.
2. Strengthen in-process and post-approval supervision. Promptly review all approval and licensing matters handled by government departments and their authorized entities, simplify approval procedures, accelerate review times, and establish an in-process and post-approval supervision system centered on credit-based regulation.
3. Uphold Fair and Just Industry Order. Actively and effectively protect copyrights in animation, games, and online literature. Improve rights protection assistance mechanisms and establish public service platforms. Assist relevant departments in expediting the investigation and handling of major, high-profile, and novel types of cases. Refine the litigation-arbitration-mediation copyright protection mechanism. Continue to advance the registration of works and computer software copyrights. Support eligible enterprises and industrial parks in establishing national and municipal-level copyright demonstration units and setting up copyright service stations. Strengthen the development of copyright self-regulation alliances.Vigorously promote the development of animation and game industry associations. Encourage these associations to carry out various tasks such as industry self-regulation, standard formulation, talent training, overseas expansion, and project matching; improve industry competition rules; effectively curb malicious competition; and maintain a fair and just industry order.
Relevant departments of district governments are encouraged to strengthen comprehensive supporting services by referring to these Implementation Measures and aligning with local conditions and regional industrial development plans.
These Implementation Measures shall take effect on June 5, 2018, and remain valid until June 4, 2023.
