With the United States and China locked in an escalating trade war sparked by President Trump’s tariffs, America’s biggest economic competitor isn’t limiting its response to just material goods.
China said Thursday that it is also taking aim at the U.S. film industry, limiting its access to the world’s second most important movie market.
“We will follow market rules, respect the audience’s choices, and moderately reduce the number of American films imported,” China’s National Film Administration wrote on its website Thursday, according to Reuters.
Earlier this week, two highly influential Chinese bloggers with connections to the communist government’s official news agency wrote that local leaders were considering potentially banning American films entirely. The NFA’s decision to take a less aggressive approach likely means the impact on Hollywood’s bottom line will be limited, experts told Reuters.