Image Nation Abu Dhabi & China’s CICC Set $300 Million Film & TV Fund

ABU DHABI/BEIJING: The China Intercontinental Communication Center (CICC) and Image Nation Abu Dhabi have aligned in a long-term strategic partnership across the film and TV industry.

The partnership is comprised of three core initiatives. The international film fund (The Culture China—Image Nation Content Fund), with an estimated $300 million, will invest in commercial film and TV programming from Hollywood, China and other countries worldwide. The seven-year fund has an initial capital base of $100 million, equally committed by Image Nation and CICC, and will seek other China-based partners in return for limited partnership interests.

Additionally, CICC and Quest Arabiya will partner on programming in Arabic about Silk Road regions, both past and present. The project is carried out in accordance with China’s One Belt One Road initiative. The first initiative will be the launch of a weekly factual entertainment series titled USILK to air in January 2017. Looking ahead, the collaboration will expand to include co-produced original content.

CCIC and Image Nation also announced a commitment to train and develop up-and-coming media talent in both the UAE and China. The program will commence with secondments between the two companies themselves, allowing young Emirati and Chinese executives the chance to learn about their respective cultures and leading media industries. Going forward, the program will expand to include opportunities for internships, mentoring and technical training.

Mohamed Al Mubarak, chairman of Image Nation Abu Dhabi, said: “Thanks to the close historical relationship between the UAE and China, Abu Dhabi has quickly become the anchor for China’s outreach efforts to the Middle East and North Africa. At the start of this year I had the pleasure of visiting China with a delegation from the UAE and spent time with our new partners at CICC, where I saw firsthand the impressive developments in the Chinese film and television industries. We are honored to extend Abu Dhabi’s relationship with China into the media industry, a sector of great importance to both countries.”

Jing Shuiqing, the VP of CICC, said: “China and the Arab countries have fostered great friendship through the ancient Silk Road. Today, the Belt & Road Initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, has brought new opportunities for the collaboration between China and the UAE. In the future, China and the UAE will cooperate more closely in business and trade and communicate more effectively in culture, which will contribute to a better bilateral relationship, a growing mutual understanding, and a better comprehension of the two civilizations. It is our belief that this partnership between CICC and Image Nation will become a model for cooperation between Chinese and Arab media organizations.”