China's TV market is changing as more homegrown productions are being exported.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Changing media landscape

Over the past decade, huge changes have taken place in the Chinese media landscape which has brought more opportunities to international producers. The Western desire to make money out of China rather than see the country as a creative hub "has been a big mistake," McCarthy-Simpson says.

In a newly released British TV export report by PACT, a recently-signed British-Chinese TV coproduction agreement between the two countries offers the opportunity for them to further build great content together. Both factual and entertainment were the two genres in which the highest growth was expected, according to the report.

Apparently, the shift occurred when foreign TV studios saw that most of their revenue originated from overseas markets, predominantly from China－and that the market was simply too big to ignore. Yet licensing programs and formats will become more difficult with the introduction of stiffer quotas and higher production standards.

She suggested that Britain treat China differently and think of more creative ways to work with their Chinese counterparts, and to look more at coproduction and co-creation deals to produce shows blending cultural elements from East and West.

For producers like Yao and Wang, the road map for China's TV industry over the past decade has changed dramatically.

China is now striving to be a new creative hub for global TV production, to create shows that both educate and entertain, to tell a Chinese story.