Ministers heap praise on movie at two sessions

A documentary about China’s achievements over the past five years has become the movie most cited by China’s ministers at the ongoing annual sessions of national legislature and top political advisory body.

The 90-minute film, Amazing China, was cited by at least three minister-level officials at news conferences conducted on the sidelines of the two sessions.

Wan Gang, minister of science and technology, said he was deeply touched by Amazing China, as “innovation in science and technology has played a vital part in supporting the developments of bridges, roads, ports and the internet, as told in the movie”.

Xiao Yaqing, minister in charge of the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, also cited the movie as he praised achievements in the construction of major projects.

“China has made progress in infrastructure development. I don’t know if you all have watched the movie Amazing China, but the bridges, roads and ports in the documentary were all built by State-owned enterprises,” Xiao told a news conference on Saturday.

He said China has welcomed foreign enterprises to participate in the mixed-ownership reform of SOEs, which diversifies the ownership structure and is considered an important part of SOE development.

He Lifeng, minister in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission, the top economic planner, told reporters on Tuesday that he wanted to use the name of the movie to describe China’s achievements in the economic reforms.

“China will be more open to the world economy, through efforts such as hosting the China International Import Expo,” he said.

Amazing China introduces many of the major developments the country has made since 2012. They include the world’s largest radio telescope, the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope, or FAST; the world’s largest maritime drilling rig, Blue Whale 2; and the development of 5G mobile technology.

Rated 9.6 out of 10 by viewers on Maoyan, a major Chinese film database and ticketing website, the film’s box-office tally is expected to exceed 238 million yuan ($37.6 million).