The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television will hold China's first state-level cartoon exposition in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, in June to boost the development of the fledgling domestic cartoon industry.

　　This will be the first exhibition since SARFT, the nation's media regulator, assumed a positive posture toward the cartoon industry last year, saying it will roll out preferential policies to encourage more investment in animation films.

　　"We expect the exposition will lure more investors to inject investment in the capital-intensive industry," said Han Jian, an official with the municipal government of Hangzhou.

　　A host of major cartoon production firms, Internet game operators, media product makers and cartoon television channels will participate in the exposition.

　　Hangzhou, as one of China's cartoon industrial centers, will also launch an award and grant program for production firms as part of SARFT's strategy.

　　A production firm will receive an allowance of 500 yuan (US$60) per minute if its in-house developed cartoon program is aired on local channels.

　　There is a huge demand for good cartoon content in China given its large base of fans spanning a broad age spectrum.

　　Shanghai Toonmax TV, one of the first three cartoon channels approved by authorities last year, said it has seen a rocketing audience rating since it started airing at the end of last year.

　　The channel's audience rating is now in the top 10 among Shanghai's 58 channels, according to Nielsen Media Research.

　　"However, China's cartoon production is of poor quality and has little originality due to lack of capital," Ren Dongyao, director of Hangzhou Agogo Cartoon Movie and TV Co Ltd, said.

　　The average cost of domestic cartoon production is around 12,000 yuan per minute, compared to US$50,000 per minute in the West, Ren added.