Founder and CEO of Tencent Pony Ma speaks at a round-table discussion of Chinese and Russian enterprises in Wuzhen, east China's Zhejiang Province, Dec. 16, 2015. (Xinhua/Li Xin)
China's culture and creative industries have strong growth potential as the country improves its intellectual property protections, said Pony Ma, co-founder and chief executive of Chinese Internet giant Tencent Holdings.[Special coverage]
"We believe copyright protections for music, literature, and animation will be standardized," said Ma in an interview with Xinhua. "Innovations in the field require corresponding policies and regulations."
Ma said protecting intellectual property is a major challenge to the development of China's Internet industries. Once the environment improves, Ma said, the content industry will have huge growth potential.
Policymakers in China have been encouraging traditional industry to integrate with Internet technology to expand, a strategy dubbed "Internet Plus," which Ma sees as very promising.
"The Internet can help unlock the full potential of public services such as health care and education by boosting their efficiency and lowering costs," he said. "Internet Plus is just starting."
The strategy not only links traditional industries with Internet technology, but also connects the work of individuals to create value for society.
Tencent itself aspires to connect ordinary Chinese people. One of its core products, the popular messaging app WeChat, helped 10 million people get jobs last year. Many content producers use the platform to find their targeted audience, while e-commerce vendors find the right customers through the app's social networking functions.
Ma is attending the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, a scenic water town southwest of Shanghai.
