China and Japan Governments Push for More Anime Co-Productions at Recent Conference

The Chinese and Japanese governments are pushing for more anime co-productions, as shared in a meeting of the respective countries’ foreign ministers on December 25, 2024. Takeshi Iwaya (Japan) and Wang Yi (China) met at the recent Second Japan-China High-Level People-to-People and Cultural Exchange Dialogue. Representing their governments, they reached 10 agreements to develop closer cultural ties.

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Notably, this included agreeing to prioritize signing the Japan-China Memorandum of Understanding on co-production of audiovisual works. This is described as a “means of promoting co-production of image work such as animation, drama and documentary films for broadcasting and distribution.”

Both parties want this done quickly and will also work towards resolving transparency on Japanese works like anime and games being released in China, anti-piracy measures, and creating “an environment in which creators in both countries can engage in creative activities with a sense of security.”

The full 10 agreements are available from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan website (English). You can check out the animation agreement and further discussion below.

(6) Both sides confirmed that they would enhance exchanges with the aim of developing healthy friendly relations between the two countries through interactive exchanges using content such as films and through the resolution of common issues related to cultural policy, including copyrights. Both sides confirmed the importance of mutual cooperation on realizing the transparency of regulations on foreign contents (including broadcast content such as animation and games) in China and anti-piracy measures, and confirmed that they would work together to create an environment in which creators in both countries can engage in creative activities with a sense of security. Both sides concurred to promote cooperation based on the Japan-China Film Co-production Agreement, including reciprocal visits by personnel in the film industry, and confirmed that the Japan-China Memorandum of Understanding on Co-production of Audiovisual Works is important as a means of promoting co-production of image work such as animation, drama and documentary films for broadcasting and distribution, and concurred to make efforts towards its early signing.

– Second Japan-China High-Level People-to-People and Cultural Exchange Dialogue

The above statement also highlights how both sides concur to “promote cooperation based on the Japan-China Film Co-production Agreement.” This agreement was signed in 2018 (per Oricon), in theory allowing Japan-China co-productions to receive preferential treatment in both countries. Japan also has a co-production agreement with Italy (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), ratified on August 9, 2024.

Preferential access to China is important given the country’s laws limiting the ratio of foreign films shown in theaters annually. Films registered under the Japan-China Film Co-production Agreement do not count towards the quota. As one of the biggest film markets globally, this promised huge financial benefits and advantages to Japanese film production companies.

While there are Japan-China anime co-productions, such as the Hana no Ko Lunlun reboot (Toei Animation (Japan), Tencent Video (China)), as of 2023, no films were produced specifically under this agreement (Shikoku News).

The 2010s Were a Turbulent Period for Japanese Anime in China

Production teams in Japan have long described Chinese content regulation as opaque and prone to rapid changes, introducing risk. Like most countries (and to varying legal strictness), works shown in Chinese theaters and on television must pass a review from a recognized body before screening. The National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) handles this and currently stipulates that reviews can take up to 50 days to render a verdict (NRTA website, 2023).

While anime exports to China boomed in the 2010s, with over 80% of Japanese TV anime in 2017 available on Chinese streaming services (PDF, Page 20), this peaked around 2018-19, after mounting censorship pressure from the Chinese government and the prioritization of its domestic animation industry through protectionist policies.

These included limits on the percentage of foreign to domestic animation distributed on TV (JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization), IP Forward’s report to Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs (Page 33)). In 2015, Reuters reported that China had introduced a new mandate that online video sites must seek government permission before showing foreign content.

Some popular anime like High School of the Dead, Attack on Titan, and Death Note were banned that year. Nevertheless, IP Forward’s report (Page 29) and Toyokeizai both highlight that these restrictions were still relatively lax for most Internet content. Sites were permitted to self-review.

This changed in April 2021. Toyokeizai adds that the NRTA’s mandatory checks for film and TV extended to content streamed online (naturally including anime). Sites could no longer self-review. Anime needed to be approved in advance by a council where they didn’t need to be before. This meant they no longer benefited from simulcasts, which allow anime to dominate conversations globally; fans would also head to piracy sites if they couldn’t access them quickly and conveniently.

• On the one hand, there have been major strides in recent years to clamp down on piracy in China. Chinese streaming sites were ordered to obtain licenses to stream copyrighted content in the early 2010s (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan – PDF, Pages 11-12).
• China has also worked with Japan on combatting homegrown piracy sites aimed at Japanese audiences. The first successful prosecution of an overseas anime piracy site led by Japanese authorities came in 2024 through a collaboration between CODA (Japan’s anti-piracy coalition) and Chinese authorities through the prosecution of the operators of the piracy site B9GOOD in March. The site, whose operators were based in China but hosted content for Japanese audiences, boasted 300 million accesses over two years with 95% of its users originating from Japan. NHK reported that including its massive anime library, it distributed over 45,000 videos. The prosecution levied fines, asset seizures, and suspended prison sentences (CODA). Nevertheless, piracy is often likened to a hydra and becomes even more troublesome when simulcasts are impossible.

Below is a chart from JETRO for the changes in the number of overseas IP imports into China. The light blue box with the numbers corresponds to Japan, which declined starkly since 2019:

The left graph indicates the growth in domestic Chinese animation, partially buoyed by protectionist policies like limits on imported animation. The right graph shows the import value of foreign animation which peaked in 2018.

An unnamed executive at an anime production company also told Toyokeizai that Chinese licensees would pay less to acquire anime since they couldn’t be streamed simultaneously. The lag behind Chinese fans engaging with a title compared to Japan meant it was less financially lucrative to those streamers; licensing fees were reduced to as much as “one-third to one-fifth” of their expected amount, according to the same executive.

While larger production companies can accelerate production schedules to respond to any content changes stipulated by China, smaller ones can’t, introducing a disparity in earnings potential. Generally, many contracted anime studios are working on tight schedules with episodes finished after the season’s premiere — long after the ideal Chinese review and approval stages for a simulcast release.

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There’s Big Money To Be Made From Anime Film Releases in China

The commitment to clarify censorship policies and work together to achieve more stable conditions is particularly welcome due to how lucrative income from China can be. Regarding films, relatively unproblematic ones like Detective Conan and Doraemon (which premiered in China just 3 months after Japan) pass easily and benefit greatly from doing so (Toyokeizai).

2023’s Detective Conan: Black Iron Submarine grossed $22.9 million in China or around 19% of its global gross [1]. 2024’s Doraemon: Nobita’s Earth Symphony grossed an estimated $25 million in Japan [2] and $18 million in China [3].

In 2022, Toei Animation broke its yearly box office revenue record, with One Piece and The First Slam Dunk as the two major contributors. So they were probably quite happy when The First Slam Dunk went on to gross another $93 million in China the next year — 33% of its global gross to date [4].

It appears that while Chinese restrictions have increased in some regards, they’ve eased in others. Previously banned or limited films have recently been shown for the first time in Chinese theaters. Studio Ghibli’s My Neighbor Totoro was screened in China in 2018, 30 years after its initial Japanese release.

This was followed by Spirited Away a year later — 18 years after its release. Stanley Rosen, director of the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Southern California told the BBC in 2018, “In China, film always takes a backseat to politics. Relations between the two countries have improved considerably at present, and we are seeing a lot of movement towards joint Japanese-Chinese film production, including anime.”

Final Thoughts Regarding China-Japan Anime Co-Productions and Future Trends

With one of the biggest markets in the world and a willingness to work with Japan towards both sides’ interests, further Chinese collaboration with Japan has major implications for everyone. More revenues for Japanese animation companies could lead to higher-quality titles and better pay for on-site staff; a 2024 survey of animators estimates the median wage of industry staff was 1,111 yen or just $7 (NAFCA).

While modern Chinese fiction can’t be said to have the strongest presence in the West yet, it can leverage Japan’s access, exposing fans to diverse and unique storytelling, and furthering the cultural penetration already gained through danmei and web novels. Not only that, but it could provide a visual level that could surpass what fans are used to; via Tokyo Times, Crunchyroll reported in 2023 that iconic producer Masao Maruyama (MAPPA, Madhouse, M2) predicted that the Chinese animation industry could surpass Japan’s if freedoms of expression were eased.

If the 2010s were characterized by major gains in Japanese and Korean content expansion, then the ’20s could be China’s for the taking. If I were to hop on the bandwagon of things to pay attention to, I would say Chinese anime distribution though Japan’s Aniplex and Chinese short dramas.

• Aniplex’s increasingly important role in enabling Chinese anime penetration saw it distribute 2024’s Dragon Raja, produced by Chinese companies Tencent Video and HANABARA Animation (animation production). It was one of the year’s most stunning and enjoyable series (in my opinion) and I’m eagerly awaiting Season 2. Aniplex also produces the Japanese versions of Heaven Official’s Blessing and Link Click.
• Aniplex’s upcoming co-production with the Chinese streamer Bilibili, To Be Hero X, airs in April 2025 with the Chinese studio BeDream handling the animation production. It’ll air in Fuji TV’s timeslot previously reserved for One Piece. Given Mantan Web‘s recent report that the new timeslot is now for Aniplex-Fuji TV “tag team” titles, it may be one to watch for China-related works in the future.
• Short dramas are a massive industry in China, available on many social media platforms like Douyin and Xiaohongshu. You might recognize the latter if you were among the many “TikTok refugees” looking for a new home after the (short) ban. It’s currently hiring English content moderators (WIRED).
• Tokyo Shimbun cited data that China’s short drama market was around 37.3 billion yuan ($5.1 billion) in 2023 and could grow to 100 billion yuan ($13.6 billion) by 2027. Nikkei cites estimates that the market is already at around 48.4 billion yuan ($6.6 billion) as of late 2024.

Be sure to read the full summary of the talks, again linked below; it even mentions getting the media to stop feeding into negative “hype” around each other and promote harmony between the two cultures.

Sources: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan website (English), The State Council – The People’s Republic of China (English), via Zichen Wang (Pekingology)

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