https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mPWKR7BBaI
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Intro
China is cool now.Everyone is in a Chinese time of [music] their lives,which is crazy because 3 years ago, China was seen in the total opposite way.Social credit memes were rampant.Anything Chinese was rebranded [music] to be something by its cooler neighbors,Japan and Korea,and it seemed like the [music] last thing people wanted was to be associated, with China.So, how did we get here?[music] To grasp China’s surging cultural appeal in the West,like the China Maxing craze that’s sweeping American Gen Z’s,we actually don’t start with [music] China.We start by examining America because no nation soft power rises in isolation.So let’s [music] set the stage with the United States first, because right now despite their name,they’re not looking very united.
Why America is uncool
You ever think about why popular kids at school are popular?Most of the time they’re either really charismatic and get along with everyone,they excel at sports, or they’re rich or good-looking.It’s funny because we can think of a nation’s popularity in the same way.If you get along with other countries, you [music] build strong alliances.If you win consistently, whether it’s in wars or AI races,you lead.And if you produce attractive cultural exports like Hollywood movies,[music] people find you attractive and want to be like you.For decades, America was that kid.They had friends across the globe.They had unmatched, influence and a cultural magnetism that made the world aspire to be American.But [music] lately, things have changed.I know this video focuses on China, but understanding the US context is crucial.So please bear with me.I promise it will all come together in the end.America’s soft power is declining.[music] What exactly is soft power?Soft power is the ability of.
a country to influence others, through attraction [music] and, persuasion, rather than coercion.So influencing outcomes by inspiring others rather than forcing [music] them.Joseph Nye who coined the term identifies three core pillars, cultural attractiveness,[music] political values and foreign policy legitimacy.America’s recent soft power decline stems from the [music] latter two.Under Trump’s America first doctrine,the US adopted a more aggressive foreign policy,[music] which has strained relationships with traditional allies.Much of this tension arises from mobilizing hard power, financial coercion,and military threats to force allies into [music] agreement.Prime examples include tariff threats tied to the Greenland crisis,and the US repeatedly, vetoing [music] ceasefire resolutions at the UN amid Gaza’s humanitarian, crisis.The backlash to this has been swift and measurable.In the 2025 Pew Research Center survey,favorability for the US from Canadians has plummeted [music] by 20% from 87%.
to 67%.Mexico, Brazil,and Argentina now rank the US as their highest [music] threat, while the UK,France, Netherlands,Germany, and Sweden place America second,[music] just behind Russia.Joseph Nye himself warned of this pattern in his 2004 article,Decline of America Soft Power: Why Washington Should Worry.He highlighted how the Iraq invasion contradicted, American values and fueled global anti-Americanism.We’re seeing [music] history repeat itself again with Gaza and Greenland.These actions have eroded global trust in [music] the US.Brand Finance’s 2026 report shows America dropping 24 ranks [music] to 57th, place.There is a growing disconnect between America’s traditional self-image, and [music] the current administration’s, conduct.As a result, watch how countries are pivoting toward China.Canada initiated a major trade reset with China this year,slashing tariffs on EVs and moving away from US protectionism.[music] The UK approved a massive new Chinese embassy near the Tower of London,
while their prime minister has made his [music] first China visit since 2018,seeking a trade and diplomatic reset.Countries [music] are hedging their bets.Ghaned and Alstad captured the shift perfectly.When the world’s most stable democracies, begin to view the United States, as [music] a greater threat to, their sovereignty than China,the global architecture of power has already moved.Gallup’s 2025 data released just last month confirms it.China overtook the US in global median approval, 36% to 31%,the widest [music] gap in 20 years.US leadership disapproval hit a record 48%,plummeting 10 plus points in 44 countries,especially [music] amongst NATO allies.These changes in allied perceptions have benefited China.But fractures run deeper within America itself.[music] America’s political rift has never been wider.Democrats and Republicans don’t [music] just disagree,they view things fundamentally differently.America’s core value is freedom.
[music] But depending on who you ask, you’ll get different definitions.Democrats champion social freedoms like LGBTQ rights and access to abortion.Whereas Republicans [music] defend gun rights, equality.Democrats push racial and gender equity through DEI.Republicans demand meritocracy without it.and patriotism.Democrats embrace multiculturalism.[music] Republicans lean traditional.This value divide breeds disillusionment,especially among Democratic leading youth watching Trump’s second term unfold.Immigration crackdowns and mass deportations, make America feel increasingly alien to them.We haven’t even touched China yet,but America’s fractures alone reveal how the stage [music] has been set.We’ve planted the seeds that, explain why so many American, youth are entering a Chinese, time in their lives.But we’re not quite there yet, so keep that spoiler tucked away for now.Speaking of China though,it ranked second in Brand Finance’s soft power index, behind the US and was the only.
nation in the top 10 to increase, its soft power score.So, China must [music] be doing something right.And we’re about to unpack exactly what.
China’s definition of soft power
[music], Remember Joseph N’s definition, of soft power that is based off, cultural attractiveness,foreign [music] policy, and political values?China actually disagrees with, it and it’s kind of a big deal, because how are you going to, fairly judge a country using, a criteria [music] they don’t, accept?Not a lot of people look at China’s own definition of soft power.I certainly didn’t in my original video and I’m here to fix [music] that.China’s view of soft power builds upon NI’s definition but introduces, a crucial fourth pillar [music] domestic cohesion.The ability of soft power to unite its own people.Enter China’s 12 core socialist values.They forge a singular national vision to be projected outwards.Soft [music] power starts from the inside.Culture and shared values must be cultivated internally first,then [music] exported.In China’s eyes, America is the one with a vulnerable soft power.As we examined, US values splitter by party.Democrats and Republicans [music] view core values very differently.
If Americans can’t even agree on what they stand for,then how are they meant to project a strong image abroad?Chang in his book [music] asserts without enough hard power,a country might be easily defeated.But without considerable cultural [music] soft power,it would suffer defeat even without foreign invasion.China likes having control.After all, they have the Great Firewall,which limits what sites people can access when they’re in China.Which means if you were to be in China, you wouldn’t be able to access Google,Insta, Tik Tok,and most horrifyingly,you wouldn’t be able to watch my videos because they’re on YouTube.But it’s not all doom and gloom because with a VPN like Protons,you at least have a chance of, getting onto Tik Tok again for, your daily brain rod fix.A VPN gives you privacy online as it hides your real IP address,which is why there’s a chance for you to circumvent China’s great firewall.Because your browsing would be, coming from Australia or America, or wherever you choose.
But VPNs do more than just this.Because a VPN hides your browsing address, it protects you from targeted ads,malware if you’re downloading things, and in general,it just gives you greater privacy as you surf the web.All this works in the background, so you won’t even notice it most of the time,but trust me,you don’t want to be in a position where you wish you had that added security.Proton is loved by over 100 million users worldwide,and you’ll have access to the full Proton suite with your ProtonVPN, subscription.Go try it now.Also, I’m getting your IP as we [music] speak.So, if you don’t download Proton to hide your address,who knows what will happen.[laughter] Okay, that was a bit unhinged,but genuinely, Proton is so good,you have to give them a try.Thank you ProtonVPN for sponsoring this video.Me threatening you to download Proton is a display of hard power.But soft power is a completely different ball game.So, let’s go back to looking at soft power and how China understands it.
For China, [music] hard power stops external threats.But soft power is what unites people and prevents internal ones like protests,separatism or fading faith.This ties directly to [music] China’s one party system.Shared values are needed to bind 1.4 billion people together.America’s institution endures even [music] when parties change and values clash.But here’s the twist.China’s authoritarian model is thriving in [music] our current climate.While America’s democracy is backfiring, hear me out.China’s authoritarian model carries deep historical [music] roots.Confusion ideology prized centralized authority, order,predictability, and difference.Values that now shine in global volatility.[music] Compare this to America’s, erratic foreign policy swings every time their party changes.What China delivers is consistency, [music] and consistency feels safe.Even more intriguing, in today’s climate,hard power hurts liberal democracies like the US far more than authoritarians, like China.[music] Why?
Because when the US uses hard power like threatening sanctions,it feels hypocritical.Democracies preach sovereignty.You’re supposed to respect [music] others independence.So why are you now using hard power to bully others into line?This damages moral credibility.Exactly what Nye warned.When foreign policy contradicts your values, soft power crumbles.China’s hard power, by contrast,feels consistent.Even when others disagree with its territorial stances,no one is surprised by it.China’s actions are aligned with its image,and this avoids the hypocrisy trap that’s plaguing the US.Hard power simply doesn’t corrode, China’s soft [music] power the, way it undermines, America’s moral authority.Moreover, China has been steadily building up its soft power.The Belton Road Initiative has delivered transformative infrastructure, ports,and railways across more than 150 countries.Tech breakthroughs with the rise of Tik Tok, AI,and EVs have captured worldwide attention.
And despite [music] global economic slowdown, China has maintained GDP growth.All of this increased China’s favorability with other countries.And this makes China’s cultural exports resonate more powerfully than ever.Which means we’re now perfectly, positioned to examine the final, pillar of soft power,cultural attractiveness.It’s wild because a few years ago, China’s origins carried [music] a stigma.Today, non-Chinese creators openly joke about embracing a Chinese identity.This is how we all entered a Chinese era of our lives.
China’s rise in soft power
[music] >> Believe it or not, soft power has long been a priority of China’s.We just didn’t find their strategies effective until recent years.That’s why Susan Shek dubbed it a fragile superpower and David Shambo, a partial power despite [music] China’s economic and political presence.Natalia Kotamun stated that in the past,China has struggled with soft power because statebacked, products rarely resonate broadly.Creative works by individuals, are often censored and government, sponsored initiatives like Confucious, Institutes often bred skepticism.[music] I explore the impact of censorship and the chokeold on creativity, more in my original video.Feel free to check it out afterwards.But since that video was made, a lot has changed.China’s cultural breakthrough really accelerated, over [music] the last few years.So let’s retrace the timeline.We start in 2020 when [music] Tik Tok exploded during co.This was when renegade renegade was happening.Tik Tok [music] was a Chinese.
app and by April 2020 it had, hit 2 billion global downloads.Short form videos became mainstream [music] and reshaped social media.Despite Tik Tok’s popularity,there was still a sense of reluctance, [music] with the app due to its, Chinese origin.Sentiment toward China also hit rock bottom during co.Yet Chinese exports kept [music] gaining traction.Genshin Impact, a Chinese game,shattered records.Chinese street fashion and doin makeup went viral on Tik Tok,though creators often rebranded them Korean or Japanese for Western palatability, since calling it Chinese could trigger people.Some things though could not be rebranded.[music] In mid2023, China’s cyberpunk city Chongqing went viral on Tik Tok.It was dubbed as the Bladeunner, city and it genuinely aed global audiences, who marveled at architecture instead of [music] dissecting politics.Then 2024’s Tik Tok ban threat changed everything.[music] 1.2 2 million refugees flooded Shiaungu or Rednote.
Westerners suddenly shared [music] a platform with Chinese users.An unprecedented collision of digital worlds.I cannot emphasize [music] this event enough.The Great Firewall had long isolated Chinese internet from the West.VPNs, existed, but most Chinese stayed comfortably within their [music] ecosystem,rarely encountering foreigners online.But now,the world was at their door [music], using their social media app, and knocking down their wall.The meeting of two worlds led [music] both sides to learn more about each other.Westerners, were stunned by how warm and, receptive [music] Chinese youth, were to them crash landing on, Red Note.The Chinese weren’t geopolitical adversaries anymore.They were real people sharing recommendations, [music] memes,and language tips.This shattered stereotypes,letting Westerners finally separate Chinese citizens from its government,a pivotal turning point in how China was perceived.[music] At the same time,
China continued building momentum with its strong cultural exports.Releases like Black Myth Wukong earned Universal acclaim.The game was very unapologetically Chinese,[music] retelling one of China’s four great classics, Journey to the West,and sparked a lot of genuine curiosity [music] for Chinese culture.The peak of 2024, however,arrived with China’s visa-free policy for over 30 [music] countries.Suddenly,China extended an open invitation for the world to explore its [music] cities,cuisine, and daily life firsthand.Online interactions between the West and China marked a milestone.But true immersion, actually walking down the streets of China,[music] dismantles perceptual barriers like nothing else.You know what this reminds me of?Those life advice Tik Toks you see sometimes?Like the less you obsess over outcomes and try to control them,the better they turn out.I honestly think this is what happened here.The Chinese government eased its grip on shaping global perceptions.
and the world embraced [music] China on its own terms.2025 then built relentlessly on this.The Lubu craze swept [music] global fashion.Na 2 dominated box offices.Deepseek’s open-, source AI upended the industry.[music] China’s visa-free policy expanded to 76 countries,drawing even more people in.And I show Speed’s China streams, amassed over 100 million views, with even the [music] Chinese, state TV recognizing, him as a cultural bridge between the East and West.Which finally brings us to this year, 2026,[music] where we have China maxing, affirmations of being Chinese,and being in a Chinese era of our lives.Their appreciation veers towards comically exaggerated, like those Tik Toks declaring if you see this you are now Chinese.The trend is largely US Gen Z, driven and this borderline obsession, with China reflects a deeper, disillusionment, with America’s current trajectory.Its growing political rifts and aggressive policies alienating, both allies [music] and its own youth.
Being Chinese is therefore a dual play.It carries genuine appreciation for Chinese cultural dynamicism, whilst also being a subtle act of rebellion [music], by claiming identity with a geopolitical, rival to protest against the fractures at home.As writer Mint Tran observes, “In the twilight of the American empire,our orientalism is not a patronizing one,[music] but an aspirational.
Conclusion
one.” Unraveling China’s soft power ascent is an ambitious goal.There is so much to unpack.We started by tracing America’s, recent decline in soft power, against China’s steady command, of foreign policy and political, values and then charted cultural, breakthroughs from Tik Tok to, China maxing.I hope this breakdown helped make [music] sense of China’s soft power rise.And if you enjoy my analysis, please make sure to subscribe.It lets me know you like this kind of content.[music] So, if you sub,I promise to keep making thoughtful, commentary on East Asia just, like [music] this one.I’m sure many of you also have, thoughts to add to our discussion, or maybe you have a story to, share about when you started, seeing China [music] differently.I really enjoy reading all of your comments,so please feel free to share them below.I’m always learning a lot from, you all and I can’t wait to see, what you have to say.Thank you for staying until the, end and a huge thank you to my, incredible patrons for their, support.
I’m going to use the last 30 seconds to get a bit sentimental, because my first ever video here on YouTube was on this exact topic,[music] except I was arguing China’s soft power deficiency.I can’t believe how much has changed, but at the same time,sitting here talking to you guys,it [music] feels like nothing’s changed at all.Thank you for being here, and I’ll see you in the next one.Bye.
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