Chinese animated productions, such as Rainbow Chicks and The Floating Planet, which have sold their distribution rights to overseas markets, show improved quality and are more popular in the West than before. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Lei Tao remembers the time he promoted the animated series Rainbow Chicks in Cannes and how a French distributor mistook it for a Japanese work because of its high quality. Now, the Chinese tale of seven fluffy chicks living on a floating island in the sky is set to fly to more foreign territories.

During the recently concluded MIP China Hangzhou International Content Summit, which was held in the capital of Zhejiang province between May 23 and 25, Lei's studio TThunder Animation signed a deal with French animation company Millimages.

The contract gives Millimages, one of the top European animation companies, Rainbow Chicks's global distribution rights.

MIP－or Marche International des Programmes－is the world's largest marketplace for television and digital content. It holds events in Cannes twice a year－MIPTV in spring and MIPCOM in autumn.

The Hangzhou event marks MIP's first foray into Asia.