Everyone in Hollywood seems to have an eye towards China these days and the turnout at the inaugural US China Film and Television Industry Expo (UCFTI) here in Los Angeles was no exception.

Hollywood and Chinese media executives came together to speak about trends and developments on both sides, and the potential for mutually beneficial relationships between the two markets such as the hugely successful Hollywood blockbuster Transformers 4 which for the first time ever garnered a larger box office in China than here in America. 

From Hollywood moguls Ryan Kavanaugh, Steve Ransohoff, David Glasser, Ross Levinsohn, to Chinese Heavyweights Bill Kong, Felice Bee, Wang Tianyun, and Zhang Xun, to Mayor Garcetti, those in attendance exchanged ideas on how best to attract and produce viable properties with cross-cultural acceptance and can successfully negotiate the often confusing landscape of local business practices.

The takeaway was that while there are still some difficulties, the opportunities are there for the taking, and as we’ve seen with the Alibaba IPO, the market is ripe to get your feet in the door now and carefully cultivate the necessary relationships today so you’ll be ahead of the game when the Chinese film market outpaces the American box office five years from now and not only will all the Hollywood studios be clamoring to restructure their models for China, but Chinese investment will be looking to Hollywood for inspiration.