China begins screening, limits Hollywood films

China announced it would curb imports of Hollywood films, opening a new front in its trade war with the US hours after President Donald Trump's record tariffs took effect.

Authorities vowed to "moderately reduce" the number of US movies allowed into the world's second-largest economy in a Thursday statement-a step floated earlier this week as a possible retaliation measure by two influential Chinese bloggers. "The wrong action of the US government to abuse tariffs on China will inevitably further reduce the domestic audience's favorability toward American films," the China Film Administration said, announcing the move. Shares of entertainment companies including Walt Disney Co, Paramount Global and Warner Bros Discovery Inc were down in pre-market trading as part of a broader pullback in markets.