This week much of US political news has been focused on Xi Jinping's official state visit from China. Xi is China's current vice president and heir-apparent.
Xi met with President Obama in the Oval Office, where Xi was approached with a candid welcoming discussion on subjects like a balanced trade flow between the US and China as well as America's commitment to recognizing critical human rights issues.
But Xi isn't leaving for home after DC: he is schedule to visit Los Angeles on Friday to ink a new joint venture between two Chinese media groups and DreamWorks Animation (DWA).
This will be a huge deal for both sides: production studios will be built in Shanghai for China's cinema market, which is the fastest growing in the world: with a growth rate of three screens a day, China is set to be the world's largest cinema market within 10 years.
Hollywood media will be able to infiltrate the spendy and increasingly relevant Chinese film market with less restrictions, a sort of victory in its challenging adaptation to the dwindling global movie market in recent years. Meanwhile, China's role in international film culture will finally expand beyond its state-owned sensibility (though to what extent is still difficult to measure). At any rate, the soft power angles here are undeniable, and both Hollywood and China could use a little sprucing up in terms of global taste anyway.
Xi is expected to become China's president in 2013.