Soft power: how China became cool

变酷的中国

Economist

2025-06-24

6 分钟
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China recently got a boost in the popularity polls, courtesy of a popular livestreamer who hails from Ohio. IShowSpeed (whose real name is Darren Watkins Jr) made a whirlwind tour of the country, showcasing the best of its technology and history. His visit, which went viral, came at a time when Brand China is on the ascendant. Chinese technology, blockbuster video games and popular consumer brands have boosted the country's image abroad—helping to build soft power. Jiehao Chen, The Economist's China researcher and Gabriel Crossley, our China correspondent, ask: is China becoming cool? And what does the Communist Party have to do with it? Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. 
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  • It's air dropping the KFC!

  • My KFC! My KFC!

  • Well, I...

  • This guy's great.

  • I think China's definitely trending right now.

  • Is that what prompted you to look into China's coolness and how it's positioning itself?

  • So, this is like a very different view of China,

  • I suppose, to what maybe our readers are used to seeing, but this is definitely a trend.

  • Showing China as a more of a cool travel destination than a geopolitical rival.

  • There are surveys which show China's brand is definitely on the up, especially among young people.

  • If you combine the cool technologies which China does seem to be coming up with in the last couple of years,

  • everything from electric vehicles to video games to DeepSeek AI and so on.

  • And then you combine it with some of these changing poll numbers,

  • it does suggest that the picture's changing.

  • People are thinking about China in a different way.

  • So there are definitely numbers that back up how people are becoming more positive about China.

  • But what do you think the Communist Party stands to gain from an improved image?

  • We talk a lot about hard power.

  • Soft power is the counterpart to this stuff

  • which, if done right, helps China get its way without having to do all of this coercion, at least in theory.