Carma Elliot, director of the British Council China, speaks at forum Shaping Cultural Landscapes in Edinburgh, Scotland, Dec 5, 2017. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Carma Elliot, director of the British Council China, described the present days as the “golden time” for creative cultural cooperation between the two nations. She emphasized the significance of individual cities in developing the creative cultural sector, and the importance of urban art festivals and protection of historical sites.

Yu Qun, assistant to China's minister of culture, said, “Both China and the UK attach great importance to the inheritance, protection and innovative development of culture.”

He said the UK was the first country to put forward the concept of “creative economy”, with a well developed creative cultural industry. “Although China’s creative industry started late, but its development has been fruitful in recent years.”

According to Yu, China’s cultural sector has made on average 6-percent contribution to the national economic growth since 2012, which means the cultural industry has become a new engine in the country’s economic development. He said he hopes the two countries could further promote creative cultural cooperation to achieve win-win development.

In recent years, Sino-British cooperation in the cultural industry has yielded substantial results. The two countries have carried out multi-model and multi-channel exchanges via setting up industrial parks, participating in both sides’ major exhibitions, joint operations and co-productions.