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BEIJING : China has denied suspending movie imports from the United States, after US officials "forcefully" raised the issue and demanded answers during tense meetings this week.
US entertainment industry journal Variety last week reported that China had begun a three-month suspension of US movies, amid speculation that the Chinese were looking to punish the United States over a range of trade disputes.
"The Chinese government has never made a decision as to ban the screening of US movies on the Chinese market," the State Administration for Film, Radio and Television said in a statement published on its website late Thursday.
"Film imports are business operations. They are managed by movie importing companies based on the demand in the Chinese market and in accordance with China's Movie Management Regulations."
China officially allows just 20 foreign films to be screened in Chinese theatres each year.
"We have spoken forcefully to our Chinese hosts" on the reported ban, US trade Trade Representative Susan Schwab said during the third Sino-US Strategic Economic Dialogue, which ended Thursday.
"If true... that would be very serious indeed and that would be an issue we would continue to push very hard on," she said, adding China's movie import quota fuelled rampant piracy of US movies and other copyrighted materials.
Schwab and other US officials who were in China this week for the economic dialogue called for removal of the quota. -AFP/vm
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