The Montreal World Film Festival’s China Film Business Week will return in an expanded iteration in 2013 for its second year, according to festival president Serge Losique.

Montreal will also add a Korean sidebar to the Asian market initiative next summer.

“We had an excellent representation of Chinese public and private players in 2012 and they were met with an encouraging response from Canadian, American and European film people. We hope to strengthen this connection in the years to come and make it a permanent annual event,” said Serge Losique in a statement.

“The importance of China as a market for western films is now being matched by the importance of western markets for Chinese films. And the rise of Chinese-western co-productions highlights this symbiotic relationship. And Montreal, the best publicly-attended competitive festival in the Americas, is the perfect place for this relationship to flourish,” he added.

China Film Business Week saw Asian film executives and decision-makers descend on Montreal for panels and meetings to encourage business and potential co-production relationships between the east and west film industries.

The public festival has had a long history of programming and showcasing both Chinese and Japanese films.

Losique noted in a statement that the festival has screened Chinese films since the 1970s, and that Japanese films always figure prominently in the festival’s film program.

New for the 2013 festival, the MWFF has established a special Korean sidebar, following discussions with the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), to spotlight rising cinema of South Korea.

The announcement is the latest in a string of initiatives that see the Canadian industry sharpening its focus on forming relationships with the East.

The first China Canada gateway script competition, which saw 12 Canadian writer-producer teams pitch their scripts to Chinese producers, took place at the Whistler Film Festival last week.

And the Toronto International Film Festival in September hosted the first Asian Film Summit at the Shangri-La Hotel in Toronto.

The aim is to increase access for Canadian producers to the burgeoning Chinese film industry, which has been traditionally difficult to penetrate, and boost co-production and financing opportunities between the East and the West.

The 2013 edition of Montreal’s annual public festival will take place Aug. 22 to Sept. 2, 2013.