Warner Bros. Entertainment has formed a joint venture to produce and distribute a slate of Chinese-language films starting as early as next year, the company announced Monday. The Burbank film and television studio will own 49 percent of Flagship Entertainment Group Ltd. with investment firm China Media Capital, in Hong Kong, having the remaining 51 percent. Flagship Entertainment will be based in Hong Kong with offices in Los Angeles and Beijing. Warner Bros. Chief Executive Kevin Tsujihara said the studio was excited about sharing its movie-making expertise with the Chinese. “The country’s incredibly rich history and culture provide a huge trove of great stories, and we want to help tell those stories for new generations of filmgoers, in China and around the world,” Tsujihara said in a prepared statement. Flagship Entertainment will develop, invest in and acquire films for distribution in China and around the word using the Warner Bros. distribution network. The first films bearing the Flagship imprint could be released starting next year. China Media Capital has teamed up in the past with Warner Bros. and other entertainment companies. In October of last year, Warner Bros. announced a partnership with Shanghai Media Group and CMC; WPP plc, a London global advertising, marketing and public relations firm; and RatPac Entertainment, the Universal City production house of film director and producer Brett Ratner to make investments in Chinese and other international film and television content. Also last year, Time Warner Inc., the New York parent of Warner Bros., formed a strategic investment partnership with CMC. The Chinese investment firm is also part of the joint venture Oriental DreamWorks with DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., in Glendale, to produce films and other content.