Shoes, phones, windows to alternate realities.
Many of our favorite products are made in China, but designed elsewhere.
Well, that narrative is beginning to change a bit.
Pop Mart shares rise to a record as the CEO announces a new mini Labubu.
And the Game Award goes to Black Myth: Wu Kong.
What we're seeing now is an emergence of Chinese soft power into the rest of the world.
In the past, China was creating all these low-value products,
and it's very hard to gain soft power from that.
But as you move up the value chain, the natural by-product is that your soft power also increases.
We will continue to actually see more of them penetrating into various overseas markets.
As the power of China on the global economy has increased,
it's an opportunity for them to go and invest in these other markets,
similar to the way that American companies probably did in post-war America.
Although no one's saying that's going to be smooth sailing.
A lot of the challenges for Chinese brands, especially in the US,
depends a lot on the political uncertainties that have been unfolding under Donald Trump.
Some are locked out of whole markets, while others have invited a certain kind of rhetoric.
The Chinese government has that data.
So with Chinese brands seeming to win over global consumers,
could they also help with something much less tangible?