China saw "unprecedented dynamism" in this field from 1996 to 2005, with mainland exports rising from 18.4 billion to 61.4 billion dollars (41.2 billion euros) over the ten year period, according to an UNCTAD report.

Hong Kong was already the world's top producer of creative goods in 1996, when it was still a British colony. Its exports rose from 24.4 billion dollars in 1996 to 27.7 billion dollars in 2005.

This gives China a total export figure for 2005 of 89.1 billion dollars.

Italy's creative exports rose to 28 billion dollars in 2005 from 23.6 billion dollars in 1996, reflecting its "competitive position in the field of design," the report said.

UNCTAD secretary general Supachai Panitchpakdi said that creative industries were a dynamic sector of the global economy which offered rich possibilities for developing economies.

"Creativity and human talent are fast becoming a powerful means of fostering development gains," he said.

However, UNCTAD officials conceded that further study and clarification was needed on how to most accurately define and measure cultural production in a globalised economy.

At present, a fashion product by a French designer which is made in China would count as Chinese, said Edna dos Santos-Duisenberg, chief of UNCTAD's creative economy and industries programme.

"There are a lot of issues that need to be further analysed, this is just a starting point," she said.

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