Fearful of the return, Hong Kong industry personnel left for Hollywood or went into TV, leading to fewer co-productions with China. It was only after the end of 2001, when WTO accession compelled the Chinese film sector to liberalize and become more of an industry, that China began allowing more foreign and Hong-Kong investment in film production. This, in turn, kicked off a new wave of co-productions.
直到 2001 年底 WTO 叩關，中國電影被迫走上自由化、產業化進程，才逐步開放港資、外資參與電影製片，又帶動了新一波合拍片熱潮。