China's Cultural Industry Revenue Surpasses 20 Trillion Yuan in 2025

Beijing (ANTARA) - China’s cultural and related industries reached an all-time high operational revenue of almost 20.83 trillion yuan (approximately 3.06 trillion US dollars) in 2025, representing an 8.8 per cent increase compared to the previous year, according to a report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday.

Specifically, nine cultural sectors recorded an increase in business revenue last year, with four of them posting double-digit growth, the NBS stated.

Creative design services, content creation and production, news information services, and cultural entertainment and recreation services surged by 13.2 per cent, 12.4 per cent, 12.3 per cent, and 10.7 per cent, respectively.

Profitability within the sector increased steadily, with total profits reaching 1.9 trillion yuan in 2025, up 7.3 per cent from the previous year.

Emerging business models continue to play a leading role. A total of 16 sub-sectors featuring distinct new cultural business models generated revenue of 7.67 trillion yuan, an increase of 15.1 per cent, outperforming the overall industry growth by 6.3 percentage points.

Furthermore, investment in research and development (R&D) by cultural enterprises grew rapidly. In 2025, major cultural companies allocated 182 billion yuan to R&D, a 12.1 per cent year-on-year increase, according to the data.