Young people from Taiwan have hailed China's move to cut in imports of American movies in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's so-called "reciprocal" tariffs.
China on Thursday announced the plan to moderately reduce the number of U.S. films imported. U.S. film studios saw their stock prices decrease sharply shortly thereafter.
A spokesperson for the China Film Administration said that the adjustment follows market principles and reflects audience preferences, as the United States' recent hikes in tariffs on Chinese imports are bound to impact Chinese audiences' interest in U.S. movies.
In self-filmed videos, young people from Taiwan said they felt proud of the move, underscoring that China has been producing an increasing number of high-quality movies, including animated powerhouse "Ne Zha 2", which is currently the fifth highest-grossing film of all time globally.
"China took immediate action against the U.S.' hegemonic behavior, which is something to be proud of," said Chen Bo-rui, a Taiwan youth.
"Our plan to moderately reduce the number of U.S. films imported shows that we are confident about our productions. It is an active choice. In recent years, Chinese movies have become better and better. Those blockbusters show that domestically-produced movies can already meet people's needs," said Liau Jia-Shing, another Taiwan youth.
"The Chinese mainland now has many excellent cultural products, such as 'Ne Zha 2'. They are on a par with international counterparts," said Shiue Ying-tung, a Taiwan youth.
"As a Taiwan youth, I prefer to spend money supporting our own Chinese films," said Hu Cheng-han.
According to Taiwan media, the U.S. government has abused its ability to levy tariffs and the Chinese market will respond accordingly. If the U.S. continues along the same path, its film industry will not be the last to be hit, the outlets noted.
Analysts said that the reduction in the number of American movies entering the Chinese market will have a far-reaching impact on the U.S. film industry.
"This will have a big impact on Hollywood productions. With the rise of Chinese mainland movie market, people have seen that Chinese mainland films have made great progress. They are becoming better and better. They are set to become a leader on global markets," said Hsieh Chih-chuan, a Taiwan commentator.
Taiwan youth cheer as China hits back at US film industry
