Weekly News Collection

ECONOMICS
Grasping opportunities to upgrade consumption
At the Chengdu Summit Forum of (China) Consumption and Economics Society 2018 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, scholars gathered to discuss opportunities and challenges China faces in its efforts to transform and upgrade domestic consumption.

Wang Wei, a professor from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, said that China’s consumption demand and industrial structure have undergone several rounds of upgrading in the past 40 years of reform and opening up. At the beginning of reform and opening up, industrial development determined the capacity of consumption in a seller’s market. As the process of reform and opening up accelerates, a buyer’s market has formed and the upgrading of consumption demand determines the development of the industrial structure, Wang said.

The contribution rate of consumption to China’s economic growth increased each year from 2010 to 2017, said Liu Siwei, a professor from Hunan University of Commerce, adding that the retail industry is an important part of the commodity circulation field and the high-quality development of this industry should be enhanced. The real retail industry should be consumer oriented, embrace the internet and intensify the innovation in the service sector, Liu said.

JOURNALISM AND COMMUNICATION
Journalism, communication education in transition
At a summit forum on media convergence held on May 19 at Shandong Normal University, scholars discussed ways to cultivate journalism talent in the new media era.

The appropriate response to the comprehensive transformation of the media business has become a major issue that researchers in the media industry have had to face in the era of media convergence. Professional instruction in journalism and communication requires constant innovation and transformation in the era of media convergence, said Xing Guang, vice president of Shandong Normal University. An open experimental teaching platform should be built based on such new technologies as cloud computing, big data and mobile internet to realize the cultivation of interdisciplinary and innovation-oriented professionals, Xing said.

China’s film and television industry has developed rapidly in recent years, but it also faces problems. Li Yeping, a professor from Shandong Normal University, said that the substantial development of the film and television industry is inseparable from the correct theoretical guidance and academic promotion. Scholars should engage in a serious academic discussion about the achievements and existing problems of the film and television industry to push forward its healthy development, Li added.

MUSEOLOGY
Promoting cross-sector integration of museums
The cultural resources of museums are increasingly being integrated with modern production and life. Realizing cultural innovation in cross-industry and diversified integration will have profound impact on the development of cultural industries and undertakings, said Li Gang, director of Jilin Provincial Museum, at an activity of the International Museum Day held at Jilin Provincial Museum on May 18.

Museums should intensify the integration with industries of modern service, new media, education and information to forge diversified cultural and creative platforms, maximizing resource opening and social sharing, Li said.

Li said museums have such favorable factors as collection resources, space allocation, cultural communication and intellectual resources to achieve cross-sector integration. They may take advantage of shared social services, cultural tourism, intellectual property and information dissemination to realize the convergence and co-building with other industries in society, forming a museum cultural circle with long-time development. This is not only beneficial for museums to spread traditional Chinese culture, but also an inevitable trend of the rapid development of emerging cultural industries, Li added.

(edited by YU HUI)