The National Base for International Cultural Trade (Shanghai) signed 12 deals at the CIIE, an event committed to being a year-round trading platform for global cultural and tourism products.

The agreements and strategic partnerships were made at the Conference on Chinese Cultural Product Marketing, an integrated part of the CIIE on Nov 8.

"In South Africa there is wide interest in the Chinese market, but it is so far away and the business community doesn't have sufficient knowledge about China", said Feng Lan, vice-president of the operation company of the National Base for International Cultural Trade (Shanghai). "We have agreed to build a South African-China Culture & Tourism investment and trade promotion center, where we can help those who want to come to China to solve the comprehensive and detailed problems, and understand the Chinese policies as well."

The base is the first of its kind in China, founded in 2011 as the only entity that provides public services in this field to operate in the China Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone.

"The CIIE brought together professionals and industry leaders from all over the world. It is more important to share ideas and know-how about the industry, than just making trade deals," she said.

China's entertainment industry, such as theme parks and museums, is going through unprecedented rapid development, and experiencing "growing pains", while in the West the market has been very mature", said David Willrich, president of the international board of directors and executive committee, Theme Entertainment Association (TEA). With the establishment of new partnerships with the base and Chinese companies such as Ctrip and Kingsmen Xperience, TEA hopes to "create opportunities for the Chinese market to grow, and to help it understand the way we have worked so many years in the West".