China cartoon festival sees $2.2bn transaction

The contracted transactions reached 13.8 billion yuan (2.2 billion U.S. dollars) at the 10th China International Cartoon & Animation Festival which closed Saturday, said organizers. The six-day event held in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, attracted a record high of 1.36 million participants. During the festival, 12 industry trade and exchange activities were organized and more than 400 animation-related products were released. As China's biggest animation event, it attracted 602 companies and organizations from 74 countries and regions. China's animation industry has seen rapid growth in recent years. Last year, 29 home-made animation films were screened in China. The total box office of China's domestic animated films hit 646 million yuan in 2013, up 48 percent year-on-year, said Zhou Jiandong, an official with the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television. The domestic animated films are expected to account for 10 percent of China's total box office over the next two to three years, compared with 5.2 percent last year, Zhou said during the event. Beginning in 2005, the festival has been held in Hangzhou annually.