China’s animation studios are increasingly targeting overseas markets, cleaning up their cartoons where needed to meet foreign rules for content aimed at children, industry experts say. The comments were made on the sidelines of the China Licensing Expo, which wrapped up in Shanghai last week. Shan Xiaodong, marketing supervisor at Beijing-based Jinding Animation Studio, said the company was considering taking its latest work, Tales from Journey to the West , globally. “I have talked with many potential domestic or foreign partners about licensing, including a world-renowned cartoon distributor which has been the agent for Walt Disney in the international market for years,” Shan told the South China Morning Post . He said his company was familiar with rating rules for cartoons in Western countries and took them into consideration when creating new content. “For example, in the novel [ Journey to the West ] there is cannibal element – monsters all want to eat Tang Monk’s flesh hoping to live forever. We delete those plot elements because they are not acceptable in foreign countries if we are targeting children there,” Shan said. We delete those plot elements because they are not acceptable in foreign countries Shan Xiaodong, Jinding Animation Studio The series has aired on China Central Television and was admired by international institutions like the BBC, according to Shan. Last year the industry saw revenue of 100 billion yuan (HK$121.87 million), an increase of 15 per cent year-on-year, according to People.com.cn. This figure is about 10 times what the industry recorded 10 years ago. But some mainland animation studios couldn’t enter overseas markets because their works were not in line with foreign regulations, Shan said. Two years ago CCTV lambasted two popular domestically made animation works – Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf by Creative Power Entertaining, and Bear Watch Out – for their use of violence and vulgar language. The producers were urged to make improvements. Terry Chow, vice-president of the intellectual property group at the Shanghai-based Toonmax Media’s IP operation group, said they were working on an animation series where the leading character was a “Peking Opera Cat”, which would appeal to foreign buyers. To raise the company’s profile globally, it sends representatives to the international animation expo Paris Manga and Sci-fi Show each year. But even as animation studios eye markets overseas, there is plenty of room to grow domestically. State authorities have vowed to support the industry through such as subsidies and holding regular competitions to encourage innovation. The government has already given domestic studios a leg up by reserving prime time slots exclusively for them. Imported cartoons can only be shown at other hours, according to the state TV regulator. Compared with just a few years ago, Chinese companies have become more conscious about developing product lines and licensing content, Shan said. “We think cartoon work creation and development of derivative products are both important and reciprocal,” he said. Tracy Li, general manager of authorisation at Guangdong Winsing Media, said her company was allocating more resources to those two areas than it did five years ago. It was occasionally the victim of content piracy, which led the company to join hands with 30 law firms across mainland China to combat IP infringement. “Some cases involve small-scale traders and the owners actually have no idea of how to get the license,” she said. Kong Fanmeng, who runs a baby product store in Jiaxing in Zhejiang province, said he was interested in applying for a license because items with popular cartoon images were strong sellers, although the goods were more expensive than counterparts that didn’t get licensing. “Parents would love to pay higher price as long as their children like the items,” he said.