China’s soft power continues to grow in the evolving multipolar and digital era

Today’s world is defined by a mix of disruption and instability. As hegemonism and power politics resurge alongside intensifying major-power rivalries, the role of soft power in international relations has never been more critical.

China’s soft power continues to grow in the context of a multipolar and digital era. This not only reflects deep-seated changes in global development and international cultural trends, but also sets new benchmarks for the theoretical evolution and future practices of soft power.

The transition from Western centrism to the plurality of powers is driven by a shift in global development. In 2025, while most advanced economies struggled with sluggish growth, emerging markets and Global South countries significantly outperformed, with momentum shifting toward Asia, Africa and Latin America. China, with steady GDP growth of 5 percent, remains the most resilient among major economies, serving as the world’s primary economic engine by contributing roughly 30 percent of global growth.

This marks a structural break in the global power dynamic shaped by centuries of capitalist expansion. On the one hand, the collective rise of emerging and developing nations is pulling the global center of gravity steadily toward the East and the South, leading to a broad-based, relative decline of the West. On the other hand, China has entered its strongest growth period in modern history, moving ever closer to the center of the world stage and fundamentally redefining its relationship with the global community.

The transformation of global soft power balance is characterized by a shift away from Western dominance in setting standards and shaping evaluative frameworks. This reflects both the historical limitations and current crisis of Western-centric systems, as well as a profound transition in global values and paradigms.

A consensus on development is increasingly superseding ideological confrontation. Joseph Nye’s definition of soft power as the ability to affect others through attraction and persuasion remains theoretically relevant and has influenced the development of soft power in many countries. However, in practice, Western approaches have framed Western notions of democracy, freedom and human rights as the sole benchmarks. This approach has often fostered institutional discrimination and fueled ideological friction.

With the decline of neoliberalism as the dominant post-Cold War ideology, this framework is falling apart. The inability of the Washington Consensus to deliver sustained prosperity, alongside the success of alternative development models, is reshaping the world’s evaluation of political systems. Stability and development are increasingly seen as fundamental, overshadowing the “value superiority” and “moral superiority” long claimed by the West for its “values”.

In a turbulent world, the true value of soft power lies in providing certainty. A new evaluation framework that prioritizes development, governance effectiveness and the provision of public goods is emerging.

Furthermore, shared power is beginning to replace coercive influence. Western soft power strategies often seek to conquer by exporting systems and values, implementing “democratic transitions”, or even subverting sovereign regimes through “color revolutions”. History has shown that weaponizing soft power to achieve short-term conquest has delivered neither economic prosperity nor social progress.

Today, as the world risks sliding back toward the “l(fā)aw of the jungle”, there is an urgent need to use soft power as a way to contribute rather than dominate, to bond countries for mutual benefit rather than divide them with hegemony and Cold War mentalities. China’s Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, Global Civilization Initiative and Global Governance Initiative aim to promote shared values and the vision of a community with a shared future for humanity, while addressing deficits in peace, development, security and governance. These are in line with widely shared global aspirations and signal a gradual emergence of a new model of soft power.

The transformation of soft power necessitates rethinking how stories are told and who gets to tell them. As the international system recalibrates toward a more balanced power dynamic, unipolarity and superpower dominance is coming to an end.

Simultaneously, social and technological progress has decentralized global narratives. Diverse voices are breaking through the information cocoons and cognitive barriers maintained by Western centrism, challenging the West’s long-standing monopoly over the production and export of discourse.

That said, China must maintain strategic clarity and resilience. The road ahead will not be smooth. Yet it is clear that China’s soft power now stands at a new starting point in this evolving competition.

A significant breakthrough lies in discourse grounded in institutional strength. National institutions are the bedrock of soft power. From social media exchanges on Xiaohongshu (RedNote) to unfiltered China travel vlogs by international influencers, more direct dialogues and honest portrayals of everyday life in China allow the world, especially the younger generation, to discover a China that stands in stark contrast to the one reflected in Western narratives, marked by ideological bias and double standards.

At the same time, China has seen significant improvement in core metrics within the Global Soft Power Index, including governance credibility, international cooperation, scientific contribution, business environment and sustainability. Within the same framework, Chinese corporate brands rank among the top globally in both total value and brand count. These facts convey an implicit but powerful narrative about China’s institutional strength.

Political maneuvering and posturing detached from global realities are losing credibility. In the new era, soft power has pivoted toward empathetic storytelling grounded in facts and lived experience. While grand narratives still have their place, the new logic of institutional discourse is clear: facts speak louder than words.

Finally, narratives are increasingly shaped by culture. Historically, every major cultural surge has been propelled by technological breakthroughs, just as each technological revolution has reshuffled cultural influence. From Hollywood to Disney, Western cultural symbols dominated the postwar era. Today, technological innovation has once again emerged as the decisive variable, fostering a decentralized model of cultural dissemination.

A landmark moment in technological innovation, the emergence of DeepSeek demonstrates China’s soft power as an innovative nation. Simultaneously, technology has amplified China’s cultural influence. The new trio of cultural exports — online literature, web dramas and online games — is gaining popularity globally in the digital era. The international success of Chinese movies such as The Wandering Earth and Ne Zha 2, alongside the global expansion of brands such as Pop Mart, allows the world to experience the contemporary vitality of Chinese culture.

China is evolving from being perceived as the “world factory” to “Cool China”, becoming a global leader in both technological innovation and cultural influence. The future of China’s soft power development is bound to be promising.

The author is a chief researcher at the China Watch Institute, China Daily, and a senior research fellow at the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies.

The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.