Trade war: Hollywood hopes for a seat in China's $8.6 bn box office

Hollywood's push for greater access to China's booming film market - delayed since last year - has become tangled in broader trade talks between Washington and Beijing, a potentially thorny position amid whipsawing trade relations.

Negotiations to raise a Chinese quota on imported films and boost the share that overseas producers get of box office takings are now being discussed within the broader framework of a US-China trade stand-off, four industry sources said.

The shift from earlier talks is a double-edged sword for US producers looking at China's $8.6 billion cinema market. It could be bad news if broader talks go sour, but it could offer a potential path forward if the two countries find common ground.

"It wouldn't really hit the domestic movie business much whether we bring in more foreign movies or not," said Yu Jianhong, vice president of Beijing Film Academy. "This should be something both parties can agree on."

China's quota system allows 34 imported movies a year to be shown in theatres, while overseas producers get a 25 percent share of box office takings - less than in other international markets. Since 2016 a handful more have been allowed in via a "cultural exchange" channel.