How China Suddenly Became Cool

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For years, China fell behind its neighbors, Japan and Korea, in terms of soft power appeal. But recently, that narrative has changed completely. What sparked this shift, and how did China boost its soft power so rapidly?

Timestamps
0:00 Intro
3:14 Push in media made for mainstream pt1
7:40 Thank You Lingopie
9:20 Push in media made for mainstream pt2
13:57 Made in China 2025
17:25 Do Nothing, Win
21:56 Outro

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References (Academic papers and Web Articles)
Valle, S, Wang, Y, Lian, D. 2025. A vision from China on Artificial intelligence. Implications for soft power in global cultural exchange. [online] Available at: dx.doi.org/10.31439/UNISCI-224
Yuan. X. 2025. China’s Soft Power Play: How Video Games Are Boosting Beijing’s Global Influence. [online] Available at: thediplomat.com/2025/01/chinas-soft-power-play-how…
Xie, Z. 2024. The Development Experience of Japan and South Korea's Cultural Soft Power and Its Enlightenment to China. [online] Available at: doi.org/10.54097/d40nkx29
Bi, J. 2025. Soft power divide: China advances while US retreats. [online] Available at: fpif.org/soft-power-divide-china-advances-while-u-…
Sier, J. 2025. Film’s DeepSeek moment (and what it means for China’s ‘soft power’) [online] Available at: www.afr.com/world/asia/film-s-deepseek-moment-and-…
Carminati, D. 2022. Soft Power Battlegrounds: China and Japan’s Strategies of Attraction and Influence in Southeast Asia. [online] Available at: scholars.cityu.edu.hk/en/theses/theses(3d0080a7-e0…

Additional Sources (I ran out of space, again)
docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTeuTWPCV6ANpa…

Visual sources:
Aini’s Video on Soft Power    • China has a soft power deficiency  
Glizzy Hands/Coffee Cow/Atrioc’s video on Ne Zha 2    • The First Billion Dollar Chinese Movie  
Polymatter’s video on Soft Power    • Why China Sucks at Soft Power — China's Re...  
TLDR News Global’s Video on Soft Power    • Why China is Pretty Bad at Soft Power  
East Money’s Video on The Rise of China’s Cultural Wave    • Ne Zha 2, Wukong , DeepSeek: The Rise of C...  
East Money’s Video on BYD    • How BYD Took Over the World  
Tony From LC Sign    • LED lightbox with pvc poster  
ABC News talking about Ne Zha 2    • Ne Zha 2 becomes China’s highest-grossing ...  
BBC Video on How China is leading in tech    • DeepSeek, TikTok, Temu: How China is takin...  
Gattsu’s The Chinese Century is here video    • The Chinese Century is here.  
Genshin Real Life Places    • Genshin Real life Locations  

BGM
NJZ – Zero    • NewJeans (뉴진스) 'Zero' Official MV  
NJZ – Ditto    • NewJeans (뉴진스) 'Ditto' Performance Video  
Neon Genesis Evangelion Ending Theme    • Crime of Innocence - Evangelion soundtrack  
Genshin Impact Snow Buried Tales OST    • Snow-Buried Tales  
Kiki’s Delivery Service OST -    • Kiki's Delivery Service - A Town With An O...  
Animal Crossing OST    • Animal Crossing New Horizons Music To Stud...  
Pokémon Platinum OST    • 1 Hour of Relaxing Pokemon Diamond/Pearl M...  
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon OST    • Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Sky F...  
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST    • The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time | Tit...  

Thanks again for watching and if you've read all this, here's a dumpling 🥟

tags: video essay, cultural commentary, social commentary, internet analysis, analysis video, soft power, cultural attractiveness, east asia, korea, china, japan, east asian, ne zha 2, deep seek, byd, red note, douyin, anime, ishowspeed china, speed china, big a china, china rising, gattsu, rise of china, tariffs china, donghua, black myth wukong, genshin impact, genshin, chinese animation, league of legends, tencent, hasanabi china, asmongold china, atrioc china, wechat, xhs, xiaohongshu, china trade war, douyin makeup, chinese century, china holiday, chinese tiktok, china tour, china vlog, cdrama, edvasian, censorship, aini, lc sign, tony lc sign, klaiz