What is soft power?

Soft power is the ability of a country to influence international affairs through cultural, reputational and persuasive means rather than the brute hard power of military or economic ways. For example, think of the exports of K-pop and e-sports from South Korea, and movies and sitcoms from America.

China is an interesting case in point. China’s use of ‘panda-diplomacy’ is well known, whereby China gifts or lends pandas to other countries; famously, following US President Richard Nixon's historic 1972 trip to China, Premier Zhou Enlai gifted giant pandas to the United States as a gesture of goodwill. In recent years, there has arisen the phenomenon of ‘Chinamaxxing’ in the Western world, namely an increasing youth fascination with all things Chinese. This is exemplified in following traditional Chinese Medicine tips and health regimes and dressing up (at least at home) in Chinese clothes. It may be that part of the explanation lies in a growing disenchantment with the American dream and rising unemployment in Europe, which contrasts sharply to a rapidly modernising China with its impressive cities and infrastructure. This attitude to China is a dramatic reversal to the previous negative stereotypes, especially during Covid. The Chinese Government itself welcomes the healthy promotion of ‘Chinamaxxing’ as soft power. Wonder what the Chinese Government thinks of Labubu dolls, which seem to be the latest craze from China?

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