Quebec signs its first cultural agreement with the Chinese government

Beijing, China, January 23, 2018 — Today, the Premier of Quebec, Philippe Couillard, and the Chinese Minister of Culture, Mr. Luo Shugang, signed Quebec’s first cultural cooperation agreement with China. This agreement will contribute to increasing the influence of Quebec culture in China, and vice versa. The agreement involves many different sectors, including theatre and performance arts, visual arts, digital art, animation, video games, movies, audiovisual content, museology, cultural heritage, literature and publishing.

Note that the entertainment and culture contingent includes 74 participants. That means that almost half of the companies and organizations currently with our mission in China come from these sectors. This is the largest cultural delegation that has ever participated in an economic mission to China for the Quebec government.

The Premier of Quebec also signed a joint statement launching a fifth call for research projects, worth $3 million, funded in equal parts by the governments of China and Quebec. Its launch is planned for 2019. The Premier and Stéphane Billette, Minister for Small and Medium Enterprises, Regulatory Streamlining and Regional Economic Development, were present for the announcement of an agreement between the Montréal-based company Cinco and the Chinese giant BeiAo, a company that specializes in organizing cultural and sporting events. These two companies will combine forces to offer the Chinese public a unique experience at future events, thanks to the stage and multimedia technology developed by CincoLab.

Quotes:

Today, we have made history by signing Quebec’s first agreement with the Chinese government regarding culture. This agreement represents the acknowledgement of Quebec’s creativity and expertise in this field. Like our joint statement in science and technology, it opens new doors for our companies and organizations. We are here to seize the opportunities that this constantly expanding market can offer Quebec.

– Philippe Couillard, Premier of Quebec

I am so proud that BeiAo has called on the creativity and the new technologies developed by CincoLab in Montréal! This initiative will contribute to promoting this Montréal-based company’s expertise and innovative capacity on Chinese soil. It is an important project that will have a considerable impact, both in Quebec and in China.

– Stéphane Billette, Minister for Small and Medium Enterprises, Regulatory Streamlining and Regional Economic Development

Facts:

• Quebec is the most long-standing partner of China’s Ministry of Science and Technology. The partnership dates back to 1995.
• Since 2007, China and Quebec have jointly funded 17 collaborative and innovative projects in the sciences. Together, they have dedicated almost $15 million to these projects.
• BeiAo was in charge of organizing the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.