China continues to expand overseas cultural presence

The global influence of Chinese cultural products and services is steadily increasing, with digital content, creative goods and traditional Chinese culture sustaining strong overseas appeal, according to a report delivered at the ongoing session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature.

Minister of Culture and Tourism Sun Yeli, who introduced the report on Tuesday, told lawmakers that the value of China's trade in cultural products alone reached $143.4 billion in 2025, highlighting the sector's robust growth.

While conventional cultural elements — such as martial arts, folk music and traditional Chinese medicine — have won broad international appeal, new-wave cultural exports, including online literature, video games, television dramas and trendy collectibles, are also gaining traction​ overseas.

Sun said that Chinese online literature has been exported to more than 200 countries and regions, while gaming products rich in Chinese cultural elements, such as Black Myth: Wukong, have been well received by overseas consumers. Pop Mart's cultural and creative products have also become hugely popular worldwide, he noted.

According to the report, in 2025, China's cultural and related industries generated an operating revenue of 20.83 trillion yuan ($3 trillion), up 8.8 percent year-on-year, with total profits reaching 1.9 trillion yuan.

Sun said that while notable progress has been achieved in terms of cultural trade value, the current quality of cultural products and services still falls short of public expectations, which calls for higher-quality development of the sector.

China will now focus on refining its institutional mechanisms, continuously strengthening the supply of quality cultural products and services, reinforcing technological application to drive cultural innovation, and further promoting Chinese culture to the world, Sun added.

Luo Jun, vice-dean of Beijing Normal University's Academy for International Communication of Chinese Culture, said that digital and highly interactive forms of expression have lowered the barriers to​ cross-cultural communication, bringing Chinese culture closer​ to younger audiences overseas.

Young people abroad are no longer passive viewers, but consumers and participants in derivative creation, with cultural identity translating into cultural consumption and emotional resonance solidifying into brand loyalty, Luo said.

Chen Hong, director of the Institute of Area Studies at East China Normal University's School of Foreign Languages, said that China's digital cultural industry is cracking the code for better engaging Generation Z worldwide.

Citing Black Myth: Wukong as an example, Chen noted that the game's real success lies not merely in its reimagining of Sun Wukong or its recreation of ancient Shanxi architecture, but in first establishing broad appeal through world-class gameplay and then prompting players to actively explore the origins of those cultural symbols.

Similarly, Pop Mart is no longer just selling dolls; it is offering aesthetic affinity, emotional value, social currency​ and collection experience, he said.

"Globally, Gen Z members may know little about China's history or its language, but that does not prevent them from being drawn to a character, a game, or an aesthetic style, and then finding their way into the culture​ through the product," Chen said.

China has a wealth of literature, mythology, history and aesthetics, all underpinned by​ strong technological, manufacturing and digital platform capabilities, he said, adding that the real breakthrough will come if the country can foster original intellectual properties that sustain global user engagement for decades.

Zhou Chenmeng, curator of the Archives and History Museum at the University of International Business and Economics, said that while Chinese online literature has garnered impressive overseas readership and downloads, nearly 90 percent of English-speaking audiences read these web novels largely for their addictive progression mechanics and gamified storytelling.

Not surprisingly, Chinese online literature has become known as "feel-good fiction"​ — a label that undermines efforts to project a positive image of China overseas, Zhou said.

She warned that many cultural exports risk falling into two recurring pitfalls. One is relying on a superficial stacking of traditional Chinese motifs and cliched representations, and the other is excessively diluting the country's cultural distinctiveness to pander to overseas tastes.

By contrast, Hollywood and Disney content often embed their cultural DNA within universal themes​ such as family, growth, self-realization and defiance of fate, forging an emotional resonance that transcends cultural boundaries, Zhou said.

Growth in market metrics may signal a "willingness to buy",​ but genuine barrier-free communication means "being understood, being moved, and enduring across generations"​, she added.

zoushuo@chinadaily.com.cn