Disney CEO meets top Chinese official as ‘House of Mouse’ navigates US‑China tensions

BEIJING, Jan 9 (Reuters) – One of China’s top officials met with Disney CEO Bob Iger in Beijing on Friday, state media ​reported, as the “House of Mouse” seeks to strengthen its foothold ‌in the world’s second-largest economy amid fraught U.S.-China tensions.

Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang encouraged Iger to ‌invest further in China, a notable shift from Beijing’s threat last April that it would further restrict imports of Hollywood films in response to U.S. tariffs.

China’s $19 trillion economy presents a complicated business proposition for U.S. film studios: ⁠the country’s young, affluent urban ‌middle class offers a lucrative audience for theme parks, but Beijing tightly controls the number of foreign films allowed ‍into the country each year – potentially constraining interest in the franchises that drive the punters to the parks.

Iger built out Disney’s media empire through high-profile acquisitions of ​Pixar, Marvel and the Star Wars franchise, and oversaw the opening ‌of Shanghai Disneyland.

For three decades, Beijing has capped Hollywood imports at just 10 films a year, and it has made significant headway in steering Chinese audiences toward domestically produced movies in the world’s second-largest film market.

Chinese moviegoers propelled “Ne Zha 2” past Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” to make it the ⁠highest‑grossing animated film of all time last ​year.

Hollywood films account for only 5% of ​overall box office receipts in China’s markets, analysts estimate.

Still, Disney and Universal Studios have both opened theme parks in Shanghai ‍and Beijing, respectively, ⁠with Iger’s visit likely to again fuel speculation that the entertainment giant has plans to open a second amusement park in the ⁠country.

“Disney is full of confidence in China’s development and will continue to expand investment in ‌China,” Iger was quoted as saying.

(Reporting by Joe Cash; Editing ‌by Christopher Cushing and Stephen Coates)