Creative industries are becoming an increasingly significant driver of economic growth. Many countries are developing policies and strategies to expand their creative sector, which includes architecture, visual and performing arts, marketing and advertising, media and publishing, design, fashion, and computer games. China is one of them.
A recent report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) on the global creative economy showed China's creative industries are outstripping those of other countries. Asia as a whole outpaced all other regions, with China and Southeast Asia accounting for US$228 billion of creative exports.
The report also showed that China is the world's single biggest exporter and importer of creative goods and services, and has been a driving force of the global creative economy boom for more than a decade.
Strong government support, economic transformation, high internet adoption and a large consumer market has helped catalyse China's creative industries. The country is also home to the world's largest video games industry and second largest film industry. It has more cinemas than any other country and is also the world's biggest investor in virtual reality and artificial intelligence technologies.
China has also collaborated with other countries to jointly develop their creative industries, signing memoranda of understanding (MoU) on this front with the UK and the Netherlands. In addition, Beijing and Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, signed an agreement to enhance exchange and cooperation between the cities' cultural industries.
What's more, the creative industry is a major source of soft power that can lead to growth in cultural exports and knock-on effects for industries such as tourism, retail and food and beverages.
Such a focus on developing creative industries, alongside the reliance on international cooperation, has set a good example for other countries, including Thailand, to follow.
Thailand's National Statistical Office says more than 800,000 people work in the domestic creative industry, which accounts for 9.5% of the economy. The creative industry here holds immense potential to contribute to growth, especially with greater government commitment to building an innovation-driven economy.
Thailand's Creative Economy Agency in May signed an agreement with Indonesia's Creative Economy Office to jointly develop the creative industries in both countries starting with three major sectors: fashion, design and broadcasting. The initiative aims to grow the industries by 5% a year and develop creative people and businesses in both countries to compete in the global market.
This cooperation should help develop the digital skills needed to help the industry going forward. Hopefully, this will put both Thailand and Indonesia on the right path to mirror China's creative boom.
Suwatchai Songwanich is an executive vice-president of Bangkok Bank. For more columns in this series please visit www.bangkokbank.com