From The New York Times:
As China races toward a more market-driven economy, it is building new theaters, concert halls and museums nearly as fast as it is erecting Western-style shopping malls, hotels and business complexes. But the government is also decentralizing control of the arts industry, cutting the full subsidies long provided to companies and performers. Now scrambling to staff and operate a slew of increasingly independent arts organizations, the government has turned for help and advice to the Kennedy Center, which just concluded a two-week arts management seminar for the Chinese. During the program, a group of newly appointed managers and government officials charged with overseeing the arts in China sought the counsel of Mr. Kaiser and his staff on tricky concepts like courting donors, developing operating budgets and projecting and sustaining ticket sales. Chinese officials said they hoped the seminar would become an annual event.