US speaks 'forcefully' to China on reported film ban

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XIANGHE, China, Dec 13 (AFP): China's reported suspension of US movie imports is a serious issue Washington has raised "forcefully" with its Chinese hosts in trade talks near Beijing, a top US trade official said today.
"We have spoken forcefully to our Chinese hosts," US Trade Representative Susan Schwab told reporters of the ban.
"If true... that would be very serious indeed and that would be an issue we would continue to push very hard on."
US entertainment industry journal Variety last week quoted Chinese sources as saying the ban would begin Saturday and last at least three months.
Schwab said the US side was yet to confirm the details of the ban.
China allows just 20 foreign films to be shown in the country's cinemas each year but it was not immediately known whether the halt on screenings was due to that number already being reached.
Speaking on the sidelines of a twice-a-year economic dialogue between the two trading giants, Schwab said China's movie import quota fuels rampant piracy of US movies and other copyrighted materials.
"If Chinese citizens want to watch US movies and they can't go to theatres to see them, then they are going to smuggle in and purchase illegally copied DVDs," she said.