Industrial base to use AI for producing and promoting Chinese short dramas

Hainan province is doubling down on its digital economy, leveraging free trade port policies and its strategic geographic position to help Chinese digital enterprises go global. From artificial intelligence-powered short dramas to online games and digital literature, the tropical island is rapidly transforming into a launchpad for Chinese content reaching overseas markets.

In a landmark move, the Hainan AI Short Drama Going Global Industrial Base was recently established at the Hainan Free Trade Port Resort Software Community in Chengmai county. As the province's first industrial hub dedicated to using AI for producing and exporting Chinese short dramas, the base is set to become a key platform for Hainan to cultivate the digital culture sector and accelerate the high-quality development of cultural exports.

The timing is critical. The global micro-drama market saw explosive growth in 2025, reaching nearly $18 billion. China alone accounted for over $14 billion, or 77.8 percent of the global total, making it the new growth leader in digital content, according to a report jointly issued by the development research center of the National Radio and Television Administration, Future TV and DataEye.

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Outside China, the international market hit $3.6 billion in 2025, with Chinese companies contributing about 90 percent. The top ten overseas short-drama platforms by in-app purchase revenue were all Chinese-backed, generating a combined $1.65 billion — 45.8 percent of the overseas market.

Chai Miao, deputy head of Chengmai county, said at the base's inauguration ceremony that the facility is positioned as a new-generation digital content infrastructure, with the core mission of "AI technology empowerment plus going-global support".

"The base aims to build a highland for AI short drama production and export within the Hainan Free Trade Port," Chai said.

Chengmai is already home to the Hainan Free Trade Port Resort Software Community, one of the first national digital service export bases and the core hub for Hainan's digital culture industry. The community has gathered more than 2,000 digital culture-related enterprises, with a mature ecosystem for game exports.

These advantages are amplified by the free trade port's signature policies, including the "dual 15 percent" corporate and individual income tax caps, streamlined cross-border data flows and an open cultural industry environment — all of which make Hainan fertile ground for AI short drama ventures.

To tackle challenges such as slow production and high costs, Chengmai has forged a deep partnership with Volcano Engine, the technology arm behind ByteDance's Doubao large language model. The collaboration will provide full-process AI support — from scriptwriting and character generation to intelligent editing — boosting production efficiency by three to five times, Chai said.

The base is also creating a dedicated "green channel" for overseas distribution, Chai added. By collaborating with international platforms and exploring the establishment of an "export pilot zone", the base will offer one-stop services including localization guidance, compliance review and market matching.

Leveraging Hainan's proximity to Southeast Asia and its open cultural policies, the base aims to serve as a bridgehead for Chinese short dramas to reach global audiences. Local vocational training centers are being set up to cultivate talent, while the software community provides full-cycle services enabling enterprises to move in with plug-and-play convenience.

Lei Lei, an official of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports of Hainan Province, stressed that AI short dramas are not just a technological race, but also a content race.

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"Telling good stories is fundamental to making content go global and culture go viral," Lei said. "Hainan is endowed with historical culture, marine culture and folk culture — these are the deep roots and unique endowments for developing our digital culture industry."

She added that the department will ensure precise implementation of policies supporting digital creativity and cultural-tourism integration, strengthen support for high-quality content creation, technological innovation and overseas promotion, and attract leading enterprises and creative teams to cluster in Hainan.

With its favorable policies, digital infrastructure and cultural assets, Hainan is steadily transforming from a tropical resort into a digital-era departure gate for Chinese stories heading overseas. The AI short drama base marks a significant step forward on that journey.

Contact the writers at masi@chinadaily.com.cn