China's animated blockbuster "Ne Zha 2" was officially released in Malaysia on Thursday, captivating audiences with its record-breaking success in China, positive reviews, and widespread social media acclaim.
Eager moviegoers flocked to witness the cinematic spectacle firsthand, and they were quick to praise the movie's depiction of Chinese culture, stunning visual effect, and well-crafted storyline, expressing enthusiasm for the fresh take on animated storytelling.
"It's fantastic, truly fantastic, and the plot beautifully encapsulates our Chinese culture. It's great," said a moviegoer.
"I never expected a Chinese story to have such a high-quality visual effect and a well-developed narrative," said another moviegoer.
"We used to watch Japanese animations, which are relatively passionate. Now, I think these are more passionate than them," said still another moviegoer.
Tan Cheong Tatt, chief operations officer of TGV Cinemas, highlighted the unprecedented response to "Ne Zha 2".
"The customers have been starting booking ticket on [since] Sunday when we first allowed ticket booking, and the response has been to the extent that we have not seen before. So, we are very encouraged by the response," he said.
Meanwhile, the recent success of two other Chinese films during the Chinese New Year holiday season in late January and early February underscores the rising trend of Chinese cinema in Malaysia.
"We are very pleased to see that [there is] significant improvement in terms of quality of the Chinese movie, Chinese-made movie, in terms of the storyline, in terms of appeal to the customers, and we also find that they appeal to all segments of customers in Malaysia," Tan said.
Chinese-language films in Malaysia are subtitled in English and Malay, broadening their appeal beyond the ethnic Chinese population to attract a diverse audience and contributing to the continuous success of Chinese films at the Malaysian box office.
"Ne Zha 2" has achieved the milestone of grossing 1 billion U.S. dollars in a single market, China, where it was released on Jan. 29. It has become the first non-Hollywood film to exceed 2 billion U.S. dollars in global earnings, including presales, according to data from ticketing platform Maoyan.
Chinese animated blockbuster "Ne Zha 2" captivates Malaysian audiences
China will implement a series of supporting measures this year to further promote employment, targeting key sectors, critical industries, grassroots urban and rural areas, and micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), said an official on Monday.
Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, Chen Yongjia, deputy director of Employment Promotion Department under the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, noted that the country's employment sector remains stable since the beginning of 2025, characterized by active corporate recruitment and high enthusiasm among job seekers, thereby laying a solid foundation for employment efforts throughout the year.
"On one hand, we will focus on creating new job positions in areas such as industrial development, consumption expansion, major projects, and public services, thereby opening more employment opportunities for job seekers," said Chen.
In terms of industrial development, efforts will be made to deeply explore the employment potential of new quality productive forces such as advanced manufacturing, stabilize the scale of manufacturing employment, and create more high-quality job opportunities, the official noted.
Regarding the expansion of consumption, there will be a vigorous push to transform new consumption hotspots into new channels for employment, thereby driving job growth in related sectors, he noted.
In addition, in the context of public services, efforts will be directed at safeguarding livelihoods, developing county economies, and promoting comprehensive rural revitalization, thereby broadening employment opportunities in urban and rural grassroots services. Moreover, the role of private enterprises and MSMEs as key channels for employment will be enhanced to increase job appeal.
"We will strengthen specific policy measures aimed at supporting enterprises by lightening their burdens and helping them keep their payrolls stable, offering incentives on expanding employment, supporting entrepreneurship, and enhancing person-post matching, so as to promote employment and entrepreneurship among key demographic groups," he said.
In supporting enterprises by lightening their burdens and helping them keep their payrolls stable, the focus will be on continuing to implement policies for temporarily lowering unemployment and work injury insurance rates, said Chen.
Financial institutions will be encouraged to innovate special loans aimed at stabilizing and expanding employment, with appropriate increases in loan limits for MSMEs and an expansion of coverage to guide companies in maintaining job positions. In terms of enhancing incentives, timely fulfillment of tax incentives, guaranteed loans, and employment subsidies will be prioritized.
The coverage of one-off subsidies for enterprises that hire unemployed college graduates will be broadened, and various industrial funds will be effectively utilized to promote employment, encouraging enterprises to absorb more workers, the official said.
China to adopt supporting measures to promote employment
