It depends on who you are working with. "Sea turtles" (Chinese that have had some form of education in the West but returned to the Mainland) tend to have a much better idea of what is required in creative industries, but how well they implement that tends to positively correlate with the amount of time they spent abroad. Creativity and individualism as skills or characteristics tend not to be taught in state-operated schools in China. This is partly because they are not recognised as important, but is also down to the fact that China is a very collectivistic society. This means that it is considered better to maintain social harmony in your extended network of friends, families and colleagues etc. by knowing your place/status and acting accordingly, than to stand out and disrupt what everyone in that network has grown accustomed to. Ultimately, if we are to move forward, it's about understanding and respecting this difference, but gently pushing individuals' boundaries. For example, for those locals in your office who have not had "the benefits" of any Western education, you need to entrust them with small creative tasks and let them know that whatever they do is not going to be wrong, but that you do not want to see something you have seen before. This will probably require a good deal of time and patience (so don't apply this to a time-critical project), but hopefully by the third time they come back to you (yes they will have brought you things you've seen before), you will have something both new and creative. Prior to this though, you should have them research the field for existing works (both within China and internationally) and have them present to you the similarities, differences and general trends of that particular genre. With a solid background knowledge and having reviewed existing works, they will then be able to look at their own pieces to see where their work fits in and stands out. - Alex