• Tencent chairman and CEO Pony Ma poses at the company's headquarters in Nanshan Hi-Tech Industrial Park in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

Tencent chairman and CEO Pony Ma poses at the company's headquarters in Nanshan Hi-Tech Industrial Park in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. (Photo : REUTERS)

Culture and creative industries in China will have strong growth potential if the government would ensure intellectual property protections for them, Pony Ma, co-founder and chief executive of Chinese Internet giant Tencent Holdings, said at the second World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, southwest of Shanghai, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

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"We believe copyright protections for music, literature and animation will be standardized," said Ma in an interview with Xinhua. "Innovations in the field require corresponding policies and regulations."

Ma said that a major challenge to the development of China's Internet industries is protecting intellectual property. He added that the content industry is also expected to have a huge growth potential as the environment improves.

The Tencent CEO said that he saw promising progress in Internet technology as policymakers in China have been encouraging traditional industry to integrate with Internet technology to expand, a strategy dubbed "Internet Plus."

"The Internet can help unlock the full potential of public services such as health care and education by boosting their efficiency and lowering costs," Ma said. "Internet Plus is just starting."

The report said that the strategy would not only link traditional industries with Internet technology, but connect the work of individuals to create value for society as well.

According to the report, Tencent itself is aspiring people to connect ordinary Chinese people. One of its core products, the popular messaging app WeChat, has assisted 10 million people get jobs last year.

Numerous content producers have reportedly used the platform to find their targeted audience, while e-commerce vendors were able to find the right customers through the app's social networking functions.