Local Development Strategies and the Making of Cultural Industries in China

Chudie Gu, University of Virginia

Why do local governments pursue different strategies when promoting cultural industries under the same national policy framework? As China increasingly treats cultural industries as engines of economic upgrading, local authorities must formulate development strategies in sectors characterized by symbolic value, digital platforms, and regulatory uncertainty. Although the central government designates cultural industries as pillar sectors, policy guidance remains broad. Local governments therefore face the task of identifying viable development paths while simultaneously managing content governance and economic growth. This paper argues that these divergent strategies emerge through the political production of expertise. Rather than simply implementing central directives, local governments construct development approaches through interactions among state officials, technology firms, cultural producers, and other elite actors who advance competing visions of how cultural value should be produced and financed. Building on this insight, the paper develops a typology of cultural industry development models along two dimensions. The first concerns whether culture is treated as a broad principle shaping social life or as a set of concrete cultural products. The second concerns the relative roles of public authorities and market actors in financing new cultural projects. Different combinations of these dimensions generate distinct policy bundles, including infrastructure building, cultural branding, and platform based production. The analysis draws on a comparative study of Hangzhou and Chengdu using policy archives from 2010 to 2020, corporate materials, interviews, and field observations. Despite operating within the same national environment, the two cities pursue contrasting strategies. Hangzhou emphasizes technology driven production supported by close ties between government and digital firms, whereas Chengdu prioritizes urban cultural spaces and city branding under stronger public leadership. Explaining these divergent trajectories contributes to debates on developmental states, expertise formation, and the governance of cultural industries in contemporary capitalism.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 204. Property Rights, Land Markets, and Cultural Industries