Listening to Mamma Mia in Mandarin I was amused to hear that in the chorus of Abba's Money, Money, Money, the singers revert to English. "It's so funny in a rich man's world" may sound fine in Mandarin but the word "money" clearly has more punch in the original. Money, lots of it, is what the British producers of the stage musical are hoping to make in China. Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats is also touring, and producer Cameron Mackintosh in confident that Les Misérables will follow soon. It is proof that Britain's creative industries are a key export sector, which we can and should be growing.
I've just come back from Brazil, where they are building 24 museums in the lead-up to the Rio Olympics. A growing number of Brazilians, including Rio's mayor, see the arts as a key building block in their economy. What was uplifting for me arriving from a grey, gloomy London was how they see Britain as a model. For us the optimism of the 2012 Games may have disappeared under a cloud of depressing economic figures but for the outside world Britannia remains cool.
George Osborne said in his budget speech that Britain was in a global race against the growing economic power of countries such as Brazil and China. Our creative industries make up 7% of GDP, not far off what we make from the financial sector. That's much higher than in the US (just over 3%) and accounts for £1 in every £10 of UK exports. It was obvious watching Danny Boyle's opening ceremony that quirky creativity is where Britain excels, and this is where we should be focusing our efforts.
So far Mamma Mia has toured 19 Chinese cities to ecstatic crowds. That Abba's catchy tunes have universal appeal is no surprise. But what's interesting is that the venture has the approval of the ruling Communist party, which wants to double investment in arts and culture over the course of its current five-year plan, which states that: "Culture is important for raising people's life happiness … and creating jobs".
The Chinese government is now ploughing money into building dozens of lavish theatres, opera houses, cinemas, museums and arts centres across the country. Seventy-three new venues have opened in the past five years, but the problem is that they don't have much to put in them. Mamma Mia and Cats currently make up the total sum of musical theatre in China. Centralised economies are good at building infrastructure but they're weak on creativity. Millions of Chinese are now entering the middle class, they're becoming consumers who want to spend money on their newfound leisure time – British creative industries need to seize the moment.
The British Council understands this and has been doing sterling work in China and Brazil. Last year it organised a festival in China called UK Now, which lasted over eight months and took place in 29 cities. It was an eclectic mix of concerts, both pop and classical, art exhibitions, dance, theatre, film and design with the aim of creating new opportunities and audiences for the UK's arts sector.
A good example of this working is the National Dance Company Wales. The first time the company visited China, it was organised by the British Council. When it returned last year for a five-city tour, it was with the backing of a Chinese promoter. So laying the foundations is crucial.
China is not an easy market to break into. Politics, cultural sensitivity and layers of bureaucracy make it a very slow process. Nick Allott, managing director of Cameron Mackintosh Ltd, spent 10 years putting in the groundwork for British musical theatre in China. He says the breakthrough has finally come with the emergence of private Chinese promoters.But there is still a huge gap in China when it comes to technical and management skills such as lighting and curating. The British Council has a scheme for training young Chinese here in the UK with a series of placements in our major arts institutions. Not only will they help build the arts infrastructure back home they will also be well disposed towards British imports in the future.
Naysayers will also raise the issue of rampant piracy as a reason for not doing business in China. There is no doubt it remains a huge problem. Only 3% of record sales in China are legal. But there are signs the government is beginning to crack down in a bid to develop the country's own music and film industry.
Exporting culture is also an extension of Britain's soft power. Having been a BBC foreign correspondent, I know at first hand the positive effect the BBC World Service has on Britain's reputation overseas. Contrary to the words of the Abba song, it's not all about money.
Kirsty Lang is presenting a special edition of Front Row on British arts in China on BBC Radio 4 today (Monday, 1 April) at 7.15pm