China beckons Western magazines; PRC's liberalization and continued thirst for technical knowledge keep interest high among publishers

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Sept, 1985

New York City--When the People's Republic of China threw open its doors to the Western World in 1979, suppliers went wide-eyed at the sight of this vast virgin market. Enthusiasm ran high among publishers, eager to carry advertising to the billion-plus Chinese population.

Six years later, the enthusiasm has sobered considerably, though it has certainly not died. Publishers who can help the Chinese government in its push to modernize the country--primarily with scientific, industrial and educational journals--are making inroads. Publishers of consumer magazines are not yet widely welcomed. But many in this league are watching and waiting for their time to come. And with the Chinese government's recent nod toward liberalism in the economy and society, some feel the wait may not be all that long.

"The Chinese are eager to see science and technical magazines come into this market. They don't especially want [newsweeklies] or fashion magazines, although you do find them in areas frequented by foreigners," explains Gerard Piel, chairman of Scientific American Inc., which has distributed a Chinese-language edition in the PRC for about five years.

"The Chinese are only willing to spend their money on and participate in ventures of direct interest to the government's modernization program," seconds Walter Boyd, president of CW Communications, another publishing company that has cracked the Chinese market.

The view of Piel and Boyd is confirmed by others who have tried to make headway in this market and have been frustrated. Paul Feffer, president of Feffer & Simons Inc., a large international exporter of periodicals and books, says that his firm has tried to convince Chinese officials to import more consumer magazines--especially for distribution through a chain of stores thee called Friendship Stores, where foreigners can shop with American dollars. To date, Feffer says, the government has not agreed to open magazine and book centers in these stores.

While Feffer sees room for more consumer magazines to serve the growing Western population on China, he points out that the Chinese consumer market does not year represent a very lucrative one for Western advertisers, and, by extension, publishers. China's average citizens are poor, earning only about $30 a month. They cannot afford consumer luxuries, nor can the PRC afford to import such products on a wide scale. "The consuming public in China does not exist," Feffer says.

Gradually, however, the government is making room for more foreign magazines. The China National Publications Import and Export Corp. recently announced that it was relaxing some restrictions on newspaper and magazine imports. The government will allow Chinese citizens to order subscriptions needed for business, but publications containing "libel" against the socialist system or "pornography" are prohibited.

Despite Chinese conservatism, Lee Hall, senior vice president of Playboy Enterprises Inc., is undaunted about his magazine's future in CHina. Playboy is negotiating now to license a Chinese-language edition for distribution in Hong Kong--a route that other magazines, such as Hearst's Cosmopolitan, have taken. Hall's hope is that, as the PRC becomes more liberal, Playboy will be able to distribute there as well. "What everyone is trying to do is to use Hong Kong as a launching pad," Hall says. He adds that he doesn't expect Playboy to be accepted in the PRC overnight. "But they have had their first beauty contest and I've seen pictures of women under hair dryers, so it's just a matter of time."

No one way to get in

How does a publisher gain a toe-hold in the Chinese market? There is no one way to get in, even for business and technical magazines that the PRC dearly wants. Many established magazines publish outside China--usually in Hong Kong--and ship copies into the PRC through arrangements with independent distributors or with the Chinese government. Some publishers have arranged for their magazine to be translated into Chinese through a contractual agreement with Beijing officials. Still others have established joint ventures directly with government ministries to publish Chinese-language editions. And a firm based in Great Britain, Business Press International, recently agreed to launch five technical magazines in a joint venture with a Chinese publishing company (see sidebar).

McGraw-Hill is one publisher that has taken the Hong Kong route to China. It publishes special Chinese-language annuals of some of its magazines for distribution in the PRC. Aviation Week & Space Technology, American Machinist, Power and Textile World, for example, all have had special Chinese editions. This month, McGraw-Hill is publishing the first of Data Communications. The magazines each go to about 20,000 government administrators, specialized end-user groups, manufacturers and others within China.

The editions are published through a contractual arrangement with China Consultants International Inc. (CCI), a Hong Kong-based firm. CCI handles the translation of editorial (all taken from past issues), and it arranges printing and distribution. McGraw-Hill provides editorial and sells advertising space.