(Kaihann’s REDDIT post + Shaoyu Yuan’spost from CONVERSATION in April 2025.)
TikTok is one very reason behind how China is
suddenly becoming cool. The comparison TikTok videos in what middle class life
looks like between the US and China to be the most influential. Of course,
TikTok will not have that impact if China’s middle class was impoverished and
downtrodden.
China is becoming cool because: it has a strong and
improving middle class; world class infrastructure; cutting edge technology in
many new fields; safe and clean cities at a scale unmatched by many Western
peers; has a foreign policy which is benign and magnanimous relative to the US
( not without flaws but its relative); is not engaged in constant war.
China is becoming cool because: it is a major supporter for development in other emerging market countries; has a growing number of recognizable consumer brands; on the right side of the tariff dispute, standing up to a bully; has a 144 hour visa free policy for many countries encouraging tourism; many tourists documenting their visits over video refuting US narratives of a police state and genocide.
Is China the new cool? How Beijing is winning the
soft power war!
IShowSpeed, a 20-year-old American YouTuber and
internet star, recently livestreamed hourslong tours of Chinese cities
including Beijing and Shanghai, showcasing the locations to some of his nearly
40 million viewers.
During the March events, IShowSpeed, whose real
name is Darren Jason Watkins Jr., marveled at friendly locals, spotless streets
and the high-speed Wi-Fi available on the subway; Chinese fans mobbed him for
selfies on the Great Wall.
Beijing’s state media lapped up the attention, with
one Chinese blogger proclaiming that the American influencer had “eliminated
all Western propaganda about China” in the eyes of a new generation.
IShowSpeed’s YouTube page attests to this
assessment. “China is so underrated wtf,” reads one top comment. “After
watching this video, I realized how foolish my previous views on China were,”
reads another.
The providence of such comments isn’t clear. Nonetheless, to someone who researches the use of Chinese soft power, I find the spectacle of a young American burnishing China’s image to Western audiences hugely significant. It provides an example of how soft power norms have been upended in recent years – and how China appears to be having some success in winning over the global youth.
Mixing pop and politics: Soft power refers to a country’s ability to influence others, not through coercion but through attraction – by shaping preferences through culture, values and public diplomacy. Coined by political scientist Joseph Nye, the term captures how nations project power by making others want what they have, rather than forcing outcomes through military or economic pressure.
Throughout the Cold War and into the 21st century,
U.S. soft power didn’t have to try that hard. It came wrapped in denim, was
broadcast on MTV and blasted from boom boxes. Rock music crossed the Iron
Curtain when diplomacy couldn’t, with artists like Bruce Springsteen and
Madonna reaching Soviet youth more effectively than any ambassador.
And in China, Michael Jackson became a pop icon well before McDonald’s or Hollywood blockbusters arrived, symbolizing a glamorous, open America that millions dreamed of. To many growing up in China in the 1990s, American culture wasn’t just entertainment – it was persuasion, aspiration, even subversion.
Beijing’s blockbusters: The U.S. is, of course, still a cultural powerhouse; American stars of film and music continue to be recognizable around the world. But there are signs that China is chipping away at that dominance.
Take cinema. Not so long ago, Chinese films were
considered niche abroad. Yet in January 2025, an animated Chinese feature film,
“Ne Zha 2,” smashed box-office records. The movie, a dazzling retelling of a
mythic boy-god, has grossed an astonishing US$2 billion worldwide,
outperforming many Hollywood releases.
It’s now the highest-grossing animated movie of all
time, and it wasn’t made by Disney or Pixar but by a Chinese studio employing
hundreds of local animators. Beijing lost no time in co-opting “Ne Zha 2” as a
symbol of China’s creative rise and cultural “soft power moment.” State media
touted the film’s success as proof that Chinese folklore and artistry can
captivate the globe just as powerfully as Marvel superheroes.
“Ne Zha 2” isn’t a one-off. “Detective Chinatown 1900,” released in January by the Beijing-based Wanda Films, is 2025’s third-biggest grossing movie to date. Hollywood, once confident in its cultural monopoly, suddenly faces a colossal new competitor on the global stage – one backed by 1.4 billion people and a government eager to topple Western pop-cultural dominance. And the audience isn’t all domestic. “Ne Zha 2” also proved successful when it opened in the U.S.
Gamers journey to the East: And it’s not just movies. For decades, video
games were an American and Japanese stronghold. Yet it is a Chinese-developed
game, Black Myth: Wukong – developed by a studio in Hangzhou – that has become
the talk of gamers worldwide. When its gameplay trailers first appeared
in 2020, they went viral, with Black Myth: Wukong promising AAA-level graphics
and action rooted in China’s classic “Journey to the West” tale.
Skeptics wondered whether the final product could
really compete with the likes of established franchise God of War or the George
R. R. Martin-inspired Elden Ring. But those doubts evaporated when the game
finally launched in 2024. Black Myth: Wukong debuted to massive global fanfare
in summer 2024, instantly claiming a spot alongside the biggest Western
franchises. Reviewers around the globe have hailed it as China’s first true
blockbuster video game and evidence that the country can produce world-class entertainment.
I’d argue that this isn’t just about bragging
rights in China’s gaming community; it’s about narrative power for the Chinese
state. When millions of young people around the world spend 30 or 40 hours a
week immersed in the adventures of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King hero, rather
than, say, a Marvel superhero or a Tolkien epic, that subtly shifts the
cultural center of gravity eastward.
It suggests that Chinese myths are becoming as cool as Western ones to a global audience. And that is soft power.
Small screen, big impact: Meanwhile, on the smaller screens we carry in our
pockets, another Chinese export has embedded itself deeply into global culture:
TikTok. As of 2025, TikTok boasts over 1.6 billion monthly users
worldwide.
More striking is TikTok’s cultural reach. The app’s
algorithm has propelled songs from musicians in South Korea or Nigeria to the
top of global charts; it has teenagers in Kansas learning Indonesian dance
moves, and grandmothers in Italy trying Mexican recipes they saw on a viral
Chinese app.
In effect, TikTok has built a new transnational pop
culture commons – one owned by a Beijing-based company. Yes, the content on
TikTok is created by users everywhere, not dictated by the Chinese state, but
the platform’s very existence is a triumph of Chinese tech entrepreneurship and
global ambition.
Every minute that Western youths spend scrolling
TikTok is a minute they’re within a Chinese-designed cultural sphere. Little
wonder the U.S. government has fretted about TikTok’s influence – it’s not just
about data security, it’s about cultural security. Banning it outright has
proven politically difficult, and so TikTok remains, steadily entrenching its
position as a staple of global youth culture.
All these strands – blockbuster films, hit video
games, viral apps – tie into a larger truth: China is rapidly building its soft
power as America risks letting its own erode. At a time when the U.S. slashes
foreign aid, China expands its influence through the Belt and Road Initiative
and development loans. And while the U.S. curtails visas for students and
scientists, China’s universities – some of which now rank in the global top 20
– become more attractive destinations.
Can the US maintain a cultural edge? Assessing the impact of soft power is notoriously
hard – nations that employ it are typically playing a very long game. And
Beijing’s soft power push is not guaranteed success everywhere. Many societies
remain skeptical of Beijing’s intentions, and China’s authoritarian system
limits the appeal of its political model in democratic nations.
Yet there are clear signs that China’s cultural
exports are gaining traction among the younger generation. The U.S. once set
the global cultural tempo almost by default. But today, as China invests
heavily in its creative industries and digital platforms, it is increasingly
shaping the soundtrack and storylines for a rising global generation.
The question is no longer whether China can compete
for soft power influence but whether America has a plan to hold its ground.
