Going global? Chinese popular culture(s) and cultural platforms’ international contraflows

Since the early 21st century, China has made significant strides on the global stage, notably joining the WTO in 2001, hosting the Olympics in 2008 and 2022, and becoming the world’s second-largest economy. Despite the rapid development of its society and economy, Chinese popular culture has not gained strong international recognition. Although China’s cultural industries (music, cinema, animation, video games) are highly developed and its digital platforms (Douyin, Douban, Bilibili, Xiaohongshu) attract global users, their international impact lags behind that of South Korea and Japan.

This call for papers seeks to explore the potential for Chinese popular culture to expand internationally and captivate a global audience. It aims to examine the strategies used by Chinese cultural actors and the role of digital platforms in creating a cultural counterflow that achieves worldwide recognition. The focus is on the past decade (2014-2024) and three cultural domains: popular music, audiovisual productions, and video games. Papers should analyze the successes and challenges of Chinese cultural exports, considering various methodological and theoretical perspectives.

Call of papers - PDF