Through strategies such as “Made in China 2025”, China has broken the wrong stereotype of Chinese manufacturing as “only cheap and not-so-good”, while increasing the number of high-value invention patents, as established in the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25). With this, China seeks to gain a leg up in the global race to create super intellectual property.

Since the moment China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) back in December 2001 and, later, through the launch of the National Intellectual Property Strategy in 2008, which seeks to adapt its intellectual property system to international standards and expand the protection of intellectual property rights for both its domestic and foreign companies, China has gained momentum in the export of intellectual property. Companies like Huawei and Alibaba, and, now, video games like Black Myth: Wukong, movies like Ne Zha 2 and toys like Labubu are cultural symbols of “soft power”, which have catapulted China to gain positions in the global market through its own brands.

As defined by Joseph Nye in his article Soft Power and the Public Diplomacy Revisited, soft power is the ability to affect others to obtain the outcomes one wants through attraction and persuasion rather than coercion or payment. A country’s soft power rests on its resources of culture, values and policies.

Related to China’s soft power, a few months ago, in my article Black Myth Is a Breakthrough for the Chinese Video Game Industry (China Daily HK Edition, Sept 8, 2024), I mentioned that video games like Black Myth can play a key role in internationalizing Chinese video games and stimulating interest in learning more about Chinese mythology, as well as the Chinese literature classics. In another article, in late 2023, I also mentioned that Hong Kong’s (and also the Chinese mainland’s) movie industry can be a very important cultural and soft-power tool since movies can be extremely significant not only from a financial perspective, but also as they can attract many more tourists and increase international interest in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland.

As a matter of fact, the Chinese video game industry is much more than just Black Myth, since there are many other video games that have or are likely to become globally famous, such as Genshin Impact or Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, just to name a few. As per Statista data, China’s gaming industry has developed in leaps and bounds. With 674 million players spending an average of 483 yuan ($67.30) each on video games, China boasts the world’s most lucrative gaming market.

Also, in a cinematic landscape historically dominated by Hollywood, China’s film industry achieved earlier this year a big breakthrough with the release of Ne Zha 2. This animated film, whose fame and interest are crossing borders, and which is inspired by the classic novel Investiture of the Gods, has not only shattered box office records within the nation but has also garnered global acclaim, signaling a new era for Chinese cinema on the world stage. Actually, Ne Zha 2 quickly became the highest-grossing animated film ever released, not only in China but all over the world.

Obviously, video games and movies are not the only two industries in which China is showing an increasing soft power, since we have the case of Labubu.

When Hong Kong designer Kasing Lung introduced his mischievous little creature Labubu nearly a decade ago, few could have predicted that this quirky, wide-eyed elf with crooked fangs would one day become a global cultural sensation. Yet that’s precisely what happened. From New York to Bangkok, London to Seoul, crowds are lining up – sometimes overnight – for a chance to own a Labubu.

Labubu’s meteoric rise represents a larger cultural shift in which China’s creations are finding traction not just at home but also across continents. As the world becomes more fragmented and attention more fleeting, China is discovering new pathways to connect, that is, through creativity and emotion. Labubu stands as a fluffy, fanged emissary of China’s expanding cultural footprint. Pop Mart, the powerhouse brand that partnered with Kasing Lung to produce and distribute Labubu, has revolutionized the designer toy industry. In other words, China is increasing the reach of its soft power.

A few weeks ago, JP Morgan released a research report that mentioned, among other things, that Labubu is emerging as a “super IP” with overseas sales expected to grow by 152 percent year-on-year this year.

For years, discussions around soft power in China have centered on things like global infrastructure projects. Yet the success of Labubu illustrates that sometimes, soft power can come from the most unexpected places — a collectible toy that makes people smile.

To sum up, as China’s influence continues to grow economically and politically, so too must its cultural depth. Labubu is a signpost on that path. It demonstrates that cultural exports need not always be grand, high-budget spectacles. Sometimes, the smallest characters carry the biggest messages. In this case, the message is clear: China is creative, China is playful, and China is ready to connect with the world not just through policy, but through personality.

Video games like Black Myth, movies like Ne Zha 2 and toys like Labubu are hugely helping China to gain influence, cultural influence, which is also a very important kind of influence.

The author is a fintech adviser, a researcher and a former business analyst for a Hong Kong publicly listed company.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.