From wuxia games to AI-powered microdramas, China sharpens its soft power playbook

BEIJING – In Where Winds Meet, a Chinese-developed martial arts, or wuxia, video game launched in November 2025, players are not limited to scripted dialogue. They can also engage in free-form conversations powered by AI with non-player characters.

The artificial intelligence chat feature in the game offers a glimpse into how China aims to leverage its growing prowess in innovation and technology to make its cultural exports more engaging and appealing to overseas audiences.

The game, developed by Hangzhou-based Everstone Studio, attracted more than 15 million global players within a month of its overseas launch and topped download charts in over 60 countries and regions.

Both an open-world game – a virtual environment in which a player can approach objectives freely – and a role-playing one, it allows players to customise their characters extensively and explore an ancient China setting.

To expand its global influence, Beijing is increasingly counting on a new generation of digital cultural exports, or what Chinese officials and state media have termed the “new three”. The term refers to online literature, web dramas and video games, particularly when these are paired with advances in AI and platform technologies.

Much like the “new three” in the goods trade – electric vehicles, lithium batteries and solar products – that have replaced traditional items such as clothing, home appliances and furniture to become the new pillars of China’s exports, the “new three” cultural exports replace the familiar symbols of dumplings, taiji and the Chinese language.

As a sign of its growing importance, at the 2026 national parliamentary meetings in early March, several delegates put forward proposals aimed at further developing this fast-growing segment.

This new emphasis comes as China seeks to project soft power in an increasingly fraught geopolitical environment.

Some analysts, however, have questioned whether greater reach and visibility can translate into deeper cultural resonance abroad.

State media have framed this broader push as an “incremental growth era” for China’s soft power, driven by innovation and technology.

A March 19 commentary in the English-language state media outlet Global Times said Chinese cultural products have captured global audiences because of their ability to innovate.

“Soft power derived from the cultural sector is one of the most telling indicators of this broader competition... Innovation is giving Chinese culture a new vitality and radiance,” the commentary wrote, pointing to what it described as an intensifying soft power contest with countries such as Japan that have long been seen as leaders in cultural exports. As further proof, the commentary pointed to China’s strong showing in the Global Soft Power Index 2026.

The report by brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance defines soft power as “a nation’s ability to influence preferences and behaviours through attraction or persuasion rather than coercion”, a concept expounded by American political scientist Joseph Nye in the 1980s. Global Times describes soft power as “a country’s ability to attract and influence others on the basis of its own strengths”.

The survey ranks China second globally and as the only nation in the top 10 to increase its soft power score in 2026, narrowing the gap with the United States, which occupies the top spot. It also places China first in technology and innovation.

“That is both a validation of China’s soft power and a recognition of its innovative capacity,” said the Global Times commentary.

That China’s digital cultural exports are coming to the fore at a time of its growing soft power is no accident, according to analysts.

Ms Ming Yii Lai, a strategy consultant at Shanghai-based market research firm Daxue Consulting, said that in the past, China projected soft power through traditional avenues. These included promoting the Chinese language through Confucius Institutes and media outreach via CGTN, the international arm of state broadcaster CCTV.

While these efforts remain in place, they face scrutiny in some countries over state-linked influence and are often seen as less organic forms of cultural engagement, which can limit their effectiveness.

The current wave of influence is more bottom-up, driven by entrepreneurs, creators and private companies responding to market forces, said Ms Lai.

Citing the breakout international success of video game Black Myth: Wukong, Chinese animated film Ne Zha 2 and toy figurine Labubu, Ms Lai said: “These are products of a creative ecosystem that understands global aesthetics and commercial appeal.”

Leveraging commercially driven, technology-enabled cultural products allows China to project influence in ways that are less overtly political and potentially more appealing to younger audiences abroad, she added.

Official data points to a rapidly expanding sector.

In 2025, China’s cultural trade exports reached 2.15 trillion yuan (S$400 billion), with their share of total exports rising from 5 per cent in 2024 to 8.4 per cent.

Digital cultural exports accounted for more than 65 per cent of the total, emerging as the main driver of growth.

Among these, video games have emerged as one of the most promising and influential formats for China’s cultural exports, said Dr Xiao Lu, an assistant professor at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University’s Academy of Film and Creative Technology.

“Video games always respond to market needs. If they are not compelling, players will not invest time or energy,” said Dr Lu, whose research interests include how AI intersects with China’s cultural and creative industries.

“So video games uniquely combine commercial success and cultural impact, making them a powerful means to represent Chinese soft power globally,” she said.

Already the world’s largest gaming market, China has emerged as a global powerhouse in video game development, with studios producing titles that draw on Chinese mythology and aesthetics while appealing to international audiences. Games such as Genshin Impact and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang remain top performers in international markets.

Online literature has similarly expanded its global footprint. Chinese fantasy titles have built large overseas readerships, particularly in Asia, which accounts for about 80 per cent of readers and more than half of the global market share, according to industry data.

Some popular works are even moving beyond digital platforms into physical experiences abroad.

In 2025, Chinese fantasy web novel The Unruly Immortals was adapted into an immersive haunted house at Universal Studios Singapore’s Halloween Horror Nights event, following a month-long themed pop-up featuring large-scale installations, merchandise and interactive experiences at Marina Bay Sands in January of that year.

Microdramas, which are short, mobile-first series that China has quickly industrialised, have also taken the world by storm.

Companies are using AI not just for translation, but also to shape how dramas are produced and how they unfold, with some platforms experimenting with multiple plotlines and alternative endings.

Yet, even as China’s cultural exports gain traction, questions remain over how far this reach translates into influence.

For soft power to take hold, critics say, cultural products must resonate with overseas audiences in a way that fosters attraction rather than just consumption.

The success of Black Myth: Wukong, based on the classical Chinese novel Journey To The West, is cited by some analysts as a key moment in China’s soft power growth, as it showcased the potential of culturally significant video games as tools of influence.

Beyond the 20 million copies sold within its first month in 2024, the game also drove a surge of domestic and foreign tourists to Shanxi province, where many of the game’s real-world settings are located.

This phenomenon highlights how some cultural exports can translate into tangible soft power effects.

But recent surveys by organisations like the US-based Pew Research Center suggest that challenges remain. While favourable views of China edged up in 2025, the country is still seen more unfavourably than favourably in the 25 countries surveyed by Pew.

The Global Soft Power Index 2026, which was cited in the Global Times commentary, ranks China high in familiarity and influence but lower in reputation and trust, pointing to the limits of visibility alone in shaping perceptions.

In the digital age, integrating cultural exports with technology and innovation is an effective way to advance traditional cultural products, services and experiences, said Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University’s Dr Lu.

But whether this approach works ultimately depends on audience reception, she said.

“Cultural exports need to be both novel and resonate with users,” said Dr Lu. “Market performance is the clearest test.”