State-owned enterprises have played an important role in China's opening-up, especially in the promotion of the exchange and development of techniques, said Xu Niansha, chairman of China Poly Group Corp.
As China continues to open its doors to the outside world, more of the country's State-owned enterprises, which constitute a large part of the overall economy, are cooperating with global partners, he said.
"Poly Group, which started in 1984 as an importer of special equipment, has seen its business expand to cover cultural and arts operations, international trade and services, real estate development, and production and sales of civil explosive goods, with operations located in more than 100 countries around the world," Xu said.
"In the future, Poly Group will accelerate its business model and strengthen its cooperation with various enterprises in other countries."
According to Xu, importing and exporting cultural products has become a critical part of the company's overseas business.
Unlike the export of manufactured goods, the export of cultural goods plays a key role in international cultural communications, bears economic significance and helps enhance the soft power of the country, he said.
According to Xu, Poly Culture Group Corp Ltd, a subsidiary of Poly Group, has been promoting its cooperation agreements with overseas theaters to introduce its cultural products to markets abroad while introducing foreign cultural works to China.
The Beijing-based Poly Culture now manages 63 theaters and organizes nearly 9,000 performances each year, including 1,400 by foreign performers.
The company is determined to introduce more cultural works from abroad while introducing more Chinese performances to foreign audiences, Xu said.
The company cooperates with art troupes in more than 10 countries involved with the Belt and Road Initiative each year to stage 500 performances of nearly 100 national art programs in Poly theaters. Last year, Poly Theatre Co produced the English version of the opera Dream of the Red Chamber with Armstrong Music &Arts and the San Francisco Opera Co, and organized a tour in Beijing, Wuhan in Hubei province and Changsha in Hunan province. Xu described it as "a milestone in cultural prosperity and corporate diplomacy, as well as a demonstration of Poly's prominent role in cultural exchanges between China and the United States".
The company has also cooperated with US universities, including Yale and Columbia, as well as artistic groups such as the Lincoln Center and MET.
The Poly Theatre has vowed to support more theater talent training activities with institutions and colleges in markets involved in the Belt and Road Initiative to boost theater management expertise.
