China's online literature industry sees strong growth at home and abroad

China's online literature industry continued its rapid growth in 2024, with the domestic reading market generating 43.06 billion yuan (around $5.96 billion) in revenue, a rise of 6.8 percent year-on-year, according to a report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Revenue from IP adaptations surged 14.6 percent to 298.56 billion yuan (about $41.31 billion) as adaptations increasingly gained synergy with short dramas, games, and other forms of content across multiple platforms.

By the end of 2024, the number of online literary authors surpassed 31 million for the first time, with 41.65 million works published. The user base grew to 575 million, marking a 10.6 percent increase.

Beyond its domestic success, Chinese online literature also made strong gains globally. Supported by AI-powered translation and the growing interplay between exported works, 808,400 titles went overseas in 2024, up 6.03 percent year-on-year. The overseas market exceeded 5 billion yuan (about $691.8 million), drawing over 460,000 foreign writers and 350 million readers across more than 200 countries and regions. Japan emerged as the fastest-growing market, with user numbers soaring by 180 percent.