Following Wang Jianlin’s warning to Disney against development in China, tensions have further escalated after Disney said it was prepared to take action to protect its IPs after performers dressed as Snow White, Captain America and Stormtroopers were seen at its newest multi-billion dollar attraction in China.
Wang recently took a shot at Disney’s new Shanghai development, telling the company that “
one tiger is no match for a pack of wolves” – the wolves being his Wanda City developments, which he previously said would help to unseat Disney as the world’s largest tourism operator.
The Disney-owned characters were spotted at the official opening of the US$3.2bn (€$2.8bn, £2.2bn) Wanda City complex in Nanchang.
“We vigorously protect our intellectual property and will take action to address infringement,” said Disney in a statement. “Our characters and stories have delighted generations, these illegal and substandard imitations unfortunately disappoint all who expect more.”
The Wanda complex, which spans 2sq km (0.77sq miles) is designed to draw tourists with its theme park, movie park, aquarium, hotels and retail stores. Each Wanda City is expected to draw around 10 million people each year, while larger branches within certain cities will be able to accommodate three times that figure.
“The non-Wanda characters were operated by individual stores within Wanda Mall,” said a statement from Wanda. “They do not represent our company.”
In addition to the ambitious domestic plans, Wanda has also begun acquisitions of travel enterprises and tourism spots in an effort to build up major tourism hubs abroad, most notably in Australia, where Wang is planning a multi-billion dollar Gold Coast theme park based on the Jurassic World franchise.
