China should work out a rating system for its animation products "as soon as possible" to protect children from exposure to pornography and excessive sex and violence, a political advisor said Tuesday.

Zhu Yilong, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), made the proposal on the sidelines of the ongoing session of the top political advisory body.

Zhu said the current problems in China's animation industry were the lack of laws and regulations, market supervision and the public's lack of awareness about the importance of content ratings.

Calls for a film rating system have been repeated for almost a decade in China, but little progress has been made.

The calls have receded since 2004, when the issue was discussed by some senior officials of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), which censors and supervises films and animation products produced in China.

The administration preferred banning some foreign and domestic films or animations with adult content from China's theaters, rather than restricting them to adult viewings because of the possible harm to children.

China boasts one of the world's largest markets for animations, with the number of consumers estimated at about 500 million last year.

According to a report on China's cultural industry released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences earlier this year, the animation industry has been expanding at a rate of 97 percent in China since 2008.

(Xinhua News Agency March 9, 2010)