Chinese cultural exports are becoming increasingly popular across the world and especially Asia. Do they promote cross-border understanding or are they tools for propaganda?

Soft power is increasingly central to China’s global dominance, no longer limited to economic prowess or military ambitions. This subtle yet key asset is reshaping Asian culture through the likes of food, film and online content.

China’s cultural exports are changing its image abroad, wielding a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they have the potential to foster unity and commonality across the vast Asian continent. On the other, they threaten regional uniqueness and act as a vehicle for Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda.

  • parpol
    11·
    7 days ago

    Uh, Christmas is not American, and the concept of Santa is originally Scandinavian. KFC is a corporation and its Japanese branch is Japanese. China has way more cultural influence on Japan than the US to the point where they aren’t comparable.

    • Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world
      1·
      6 days ago

      Christmas is Western. Santa is Western. KFC stands for KENTUCKY fried chicken.

      I love my Toyota. I’m not going to claim it’s an American company.

      “China has way more cultural influence on Japan”

      The article is in English. It’s warning the West, not Japanese.

      The article would be no different than if a Chinese journalist wrote about the dangers of Japanese culture to Americans. “Kids are going to watch Dragonball and play Pokemon if you don’t stop the Japanese!”