Why the Chinese era is upon us.

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The update to my first video on China's soft power deficiency. See the original video here:    • China has a soft power deficiency  

How did China go from being hated on, to being loved in 2026?

Timestamps
0:00 Intro
0:41 Why America is uncool
5:21 China's definition of soft power
10:24 China's rise in soft power
15:04 Conclusion

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Academic References
Fazil, M.D. and Ahmad, R.E. Evaluating China's Soft Power Discourse: Assumptions, Strategies and Objectives. (2024). Pakistan Languages and Humanities Reivew, 6(3). doi: 10.47205/plhr.2022(6-III)7

Han, Y. and Cappelletti, A. (2025). Perceptions of China’s soft power: exploring the cognition wall through the case of the Confucius Institute. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12(1). doi:10.1057/s41599-025-05359-w.

Hussain, M. Journalpsa.com.pk. (2026). View of Ensuring Socioeconomic Independence & Global Hegemony: Evaluating Chinese Political Culture and Soft Power Strategies. [online] Available at: https://journalpsa.com.pk/index.php/j...

Yecies, B., Keane, M., Yu, H., Zhao, E.J., Zhong, P.Y., Leong, S. and Wu, H. (2019). The cultural power metric: Toward a reputational analysis of China’s soft power in the Asia-Pacific. Global Media and China, 4(2), p.205943641984972. doi:10.1177/2059436419849724.

Zhang G. (2017). Research Outline for China’s Cultural Soft Power. Singapore Springer Singapore.

Zheng, Z. Critically Analyse the Role of “Soft Power” in China’s Rise. (2021). Academic Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences, 4(8). doi:10.25236/ajhss.2021.040808.

References
Alden, E., Matthijs, M., Smith, S. A., Kurlantzick, J. Geopolitics of Trump Tariffs: How U.S. Trade Policy Has Shaken Allies | Council on Foreign Relations. (2025). [online] Cfr.org. Available at: https://www.cfr.org/articles/geopolit...

Brand Finance (2026). Global Soft Power Index 2026. Available at: https://static.brandirectory.com/repo...

Gagnard, J. and Alstad, N. (2026). The Rise of China’s Strategic Soft Power and its Global Impact. [online] The Cipher Brief. Available at: https://www.thecipherbrief.com/the-ri...

K., WanQi (2025). Why Is Everyone Suddenly Obsessed with China? [online] Medium. Available at:   / why-is-everyone-suddenly-obsessed-with-china  

Schulman, J. and Silver, L. (2025). Views of the U.S. have worsened while opinions of China have improved in many surveyed countries. [online] Pew Research Center. Available at: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-rea...

National Committee of US China Relations. Why Labubus Are Changing China’s Soft Power Strategy. (2025). [online] Available at: https://www.ncuscr.org/video/labubu-s...

National Committee of US China Relations. How is China Using Soft Power? (2025). [online] Available at: https://www.ncuscr.org/video/labubu-s...

Poplin, J. (2026) The Conversation: TikTokers are becoming Chinese in a new trend - Southern Cross University. [online] Scu.edu.au. Available at: https://www.scu.edu.au/news/2026/the-...

Yang, Z. and Matsakis, L. (2026). Why Everyone Is Suddenly in a ‘Very Chinese Time’ in Their Lives. [online] WIRED. Available at: https://www.wired.com/story/made-in-c...

Thanks for watching! If you've been here since my first video on China's soft power… you're a true OG. Thank you for watching and if you're new here, hi! Welcome and I hope to see you again in my next vid! :)

Tags:
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