Some Hollywood movies, such as A Dog's Purpose, have earned more in China than in North America. [Photo provided to China Daily]

This year, 1,655 sites have been shut, 274,800 links deleted and 314 cases are being probed, according to the newspaper report.

Commenting on China's actions, Rivkin says: "Anti-piracy is the most important thing that we can fight together.

"The reason that piracy matters so much is that I don't think enough people understand that when pirates steal Chinese movies or American movies, they are not stealing from big productions or the governments. They are stealing from hardworking Chinese and American citizens."

According to a report released by the MPAA on Dec 15, China's film and TV industry sustained 4.1 million jobs in 2016. Rivkin says the figure in the US is 2 million.

"They (the people in the industry) are hardworking people. It (piracy) needs to be stopped. It impacts the box office and everything …Fighting piracy is extremely important for everybody who wants to create something. Who will want to create something if it will be stolen?" says Rivkin, once the head of several entertainment companies.

The report by Oxford Economics, an advisory venture of Oxford University, which uses statistics from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, also finds that China's movie and television industry made a total direct contribution to Chinese gross domestic product of 254 billion yuan in 2016, representing 0.34 percent of the Chinese economy.

China's rapidly expanding industry also benefits the US, as seven Hollywood movies earned more in China than they did in North America in 2017, says Rivkin.

Those movies were The Fate of the Furious; Kong: Skull Island; Resident Evil: The Final Chapter; The Mummy; xXx: The Return of Xander Cage; Transformers: The Last Knight; and A Dog's Purpose.

As for Disney's announcement about buying most of 21st Century Fox, Rivkin says he has yet to study the issue. But he believes the possible deal is indicative of the changing landscape in the motionpicture industry and shows his job will remain challenging.

Before succeeding Christopher Dodd at the MPAA, Rivkin served as assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs from 2014 to 2017 in the Obama administration.