Critically Examine the Development of Creative Industry Policy, Giving Historical and Political Context. Discuss the Functioning of Creative Industry Policy in China, and by Providing Evidence, Explain the Reasons Why It Has Become So Prominent.

Creative industries which are non-pollution, low-energy consumption, and high-value have become increasingly important for economic activity and brought higher average growth and job creation. Generally, the definition of creative industries could be drawn as ‘those activities which have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent and which have the potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property’ (Roodhouse, 2006). According to the British economist John’s (2006) report, the core global creative industry annual output has achieved 600 billion dollars with 7% growth rate. In the UK, the annual average growth rate of creative industries was 6%, accounted for about 8% of the British national GDP which was only second to the financial industry and became the largest industry of employment; it’s the same situation in the United State and took up 25% of the total GDP. The U.S. film occupies an important position in the international market; Japanese animation industry exceeded the electronics industry and the automotive industry, accounting for 20% of national GDP and 62% of the international market (Jiang, 2010). It may reveal that the creative industries do play a crucial role in modern post-industrial economies in the United Kingdom, the U.S., Japan and other developed countries. More than the economy, creative industries are considered as vehicles of cultural identity that contribute to cultivating cultural diversity and also relative to the meanings by which people live, collective heritage and how communities are made and defined (UNESCO, 2008). During the last decade, numerous governments around the world have been aware of the great potential and vast development prospects of creative industries, and started to exploit specific policies to promote them. Especially in China, it is essential for this big manufacturing country to gain the substantial support from policy, pay close attention, in-depth study and accurately grasp the trend of the development of creative industries in the contemporary world for the purpose of transforming from manufacturing into creative. This paper will put forward the developments of creative industry policy with historical and political context among the United Kingdom, Japan, the United State and Germany, and critically examine them, and then, discuss the functioning of creative industry in China. Reasons about why the creative industry policy has become so prominent will be indicated with evidence through three cities. Finally, a brief conclusion will be drawn.

Creative industries which is set forth in policy, industry and academic level and developed to capture the new economy dynamics in a way that arts, media and cultural industries could not, has become a policy object in its own right only in the last fifteen years. Under the policy, creativity has been concerned about broader political and policy objectives including