On May 5, I attended the Weibo Game and Anime Exhibition in Beijing. It was a vibrant event showcasing comics, animation, and games. Amidst the colorful Cosplay and pop-up booths, there was another thing that stood out: the unstoppable output of Chinese culture. China had long been seen as a huge consumer market for global culture, but this perception is rapidly changing. Today, China is confidently stepping into the role of a cultural exporter—games, animations, toys, aesthetics, characters, and even short stories.
In the past 14 years, 42% of the growth in global game consumption expenditures has come from games produced in China, including hits like "Genshin Impact." Highly anticipated works like "Black Myth:悟空" (as shown in the picture) have also achieved significant commercial success, surpassing many global hit games. Chinese publishers are increasingly influential on the international gaming platform Steam, where the number of Chinese users has exceeded English-speaking users.
In the field of animation, works such as "Guardian Knights" and "Nezha" have become breakthrough IPs, indicating that Chinese stories are competing and resonating globally. Perhaps the most powerful medium of cultural transmission today is short videos, where China dominates. Through related platforms, Chinese culture is reaching foreign audiences on a large scale through language, fashion, animation, and storytelling.
This holds great significance for countries like the Philippines. Filipino audiences are already immersed in Chinese cultural products: from "Labubu" collectibles sold in malls, to Chinese mobile games topping app store charts, to short stories and comics inspired by Chinese mythology flooding social platforms. These influences are shaping the aspirations of young Filipinos, the role models for creators, and the investment directions of advertisers. Meanwhile, Filipino creatives are being pushed into a more competitive global market. Although Japan and South Korea have long been benchmarks for Asian soft power, China's creative economy, built with state support, venture capital, and export-oriented platforms, is now producing highly competitive content on a massive and widespread scale.
This transformation presents both challenges and opportunities. China's cultural rise is not just about carriers of "otaku culture"; it also involves the reshaping of digital culture itself—from who creates it to who disseminates it and defines the future. Filipinos would do well to pay close attention and take corresponding actions. (By West Cabangon, translated by Xin Bin)
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7508924105572336168/
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