Chinese cultural policy and the cultural industries

•A historical account of Chinese cultural policy from 'culture serves politics' to 'culture serves economy'.•Factors drive the development of Chinese cultural industries in particular the loosening up of 'state control'.•Typologies of Chinese creative clusters and their development trajectories.•An analysis of the opportunities and constraints of Chinese creative clusters and creative industries.

At the beginning of the 21st century, starting with institutional reform as result of economic globalization, China's cultural industries have witnessed a rapid development. At the positive end, some commentators argued that China's cultural industries will keep growing strongly with its size and scale increasing year by year; the contribution of cultural industries to economy and society is constantly on the rise; cultural enterprises will grow rapidly in the next decade; state enterprises begin to expand into the cultural sector and their production ability is significantly improved; culture and technology are more closely integrated than previously - new sectors are emerging to fill the gaps within the industries; the construction of investment and financing system and the development of cultural resources are being gradually standardized; industrial clustering has become the trend; cultural export increases; cultural trade prospers; cultural market is unprecedentedly active. According to statistics, since 2004, cultural industries have grown with an annual growth rate of over 15% and 6% higher than the concurrent GDP growth rate. It seems to suggest that cultural industries have changed the landscape of China's culture and economy, and have strongly participated in the modern transition of Chinese society.