The countermeasure was previously floated by two influential Chinese bloggers, who on Tuesday posted an identical set of steps they said authorities were mulling to hit back at Trump’s earlier tariff threats.
Hollywood films have been suffering for years in China since the trade tension between the two countries first emerged. Once the largest overseas market for US films, China saw the number of approved US releases peak in 2018 and then collapse during the pandemic.
With approvals by Beijing unpredictable, US studios have scaled back their efforts to release or promote their films in China, while local moviegoers’ appetite largely shifted to domestic films. Recently, the Chinese government’s push to boost domestic consumption has sparked renewed optimism that Hollywood blockbusters may once again secure more screen time in the country.
