NEW DELHI (TIP): India and China are looking to strengthen co-operation in the area of films and broadcasting, and are also exploring the potential of co-production of films. Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari led an Indian delegation on Tuesday and held a twohour discussion on future ties with a 10-member Chinese delegation led by Cai Fuchao, the Chinese Minister of State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.

More access India asked China to provide more access to Indian films and also raised the issue of giving landing rights to public broadcaster Doordarshan in China. China has a fixed quota for the number of international films that are allowed to be released every year. If a television channel is uplinked abroad, it requires landing rights to be able to telecast the channels in another country. Tewari told reporters that the two delegations had discussions on strengthening people-to-people contact.

“Both felt that there is potential to further enhance cultural exchanges… in the field of films, personnel, public broadcasters, coproduction of films, exchanges between film industries as well as between our Film Institute and the Beijing film school,” he said. I&B Secretary Uday Kumar Varma also raised the issue of easing restrictions for allowing more Indian films to be shown in China. Tewari added, “We are going to constitute a joint working group and this will be a part of its agenda.” The working group is expected to meet at regular intervals to look into issues surrounding the film and broadcasting sectors.

He said India had invited China to become the ‘principal guest country’ at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2014, scheduled to be held in Goa and had requested them to send classical Chinese films. He said that the two countries looked forward to agreement on co-production in films as well as in radio and television. “An audio-visual agreement would not only promote our shooting locations, but will also boost film-related tourism in the two countries and hence pave the way for more vibrant people-to-people contact,” he added.

Fuchao, who is here for the inaugural ceremony of the six-day Chinese Film Festival being held in Delhi, said the two countries agreed on the potential of strengthening ties in the areas of films, television and culture. He also said there is a potential for co-production of movies. Jackie Chan’s latest film Chinese Zodiac was the opening film of the Festival.