How Chinese culture 'going global' will gain greater momentum in 2026

Editor's Note: China will hold its annual Two Sessions in early March. Ahead of this year's key political meetings, CGTN presents a special series, China Agenda, offering multi-angle insights into China's whole-process people's democracy, its socio-economic achievements, and the development vision outlined in the 15th Five-Year Plan.

"Where Winds Meet," a game developed by China's NetEase, attracted more than 15 million global players within a month of its overseas launch and topped download charts in over 60 countries and regions. As the first digital cultural product to bring Chinese martial arts storytelling to the mainstream Western market on a large scale, the game has become a standout example of China's recent cultural "going global" momentum.

Building on such corporate practices, Liu Jie, a deputy to the 14th Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress and vice president of NetEase, put forward proposals at this year's provincial Two Sessions in January. He called for strengthening policy guidance for China's "New Three" cultural exports – online literature, web dramas and video games, clarifying the strategic role of digital culture in the digital economy and incorporating core technologies such as game engines, multimodal content understanding and virtual-real integrated rendering into major national science and technology support programs.

At the local Two Sessions, lawmakers and political advisors from the cultural and creative industries, just like Liu, have been examining how widely recognized Chinese cultural products can evolve from being merely seen to being genuinely understood – shifting from large-scale output to deeper civilizational exchange. The issue is widely expected to gain further prominence at the upcoming national "Two Sessions," as policymakers refine pathways for high-quality Chinese cultural export.

The success of titles like "Where Winds Meet" shows that Chinese cultural products can capture global attention. Local lawmakers and deputies suggest the next phase is to deepen understanding and interaction.

At the 2026 Hangzhou Municipal Two Sessions in January, Mayor Yao Gaoyuan pledged in the government work report to build the city into a national demonstration hub for the high-quality development and overseas expansion of China's "New Three" cultural sectors.

In Shandong, Zhu Wenqiu, a member of the 13th Shandong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), proposed upgrading the Nishan World Civilization Forum into a flagship platform for civilizational dialogue and lifestyle aesthetics. He also suggested adding global exhibitions for intangible cultural heritage and time-honored brands to facilitate exchanges not just of products, but of living cultural experiences.

The economic momentum is tangible. In 2025, China's cultural trade exports reached 2.15 trillion yuan ($301 billion), with their share of total exports rising from 5 percent in 2024 to 8.4 percent. Digital cultural exports accounted for over 65 percent, emerging as the principal growth engine.

The "New Three" have been particularly robust. In 2025, overseas revenue from China's self-developed games totaled $20.455 billion, up 10.23 percent year on year, marking six consecutive years above the 100-billion-yuan threshold. Hits such as "Black Myth: Wukong" and "Wuthering Waves" have turned Chinese mythology and Eastern aesthetics into globally recognizable cultural symbols.

The upward trend has continued into 2026. In January alone, overseas revenue from Chinese self-developed games reached $2.077 billion, a 24.05-percent increase year on year. Flagship products including "Genshin Impact" and "Mobile Legends: Bang Bang" remain top performers in international markets.

Yet, scale is only the starting point.

Zhang Fengxiang, a member of the 13th Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the CPPCC and distinguished professor at Wenzhou University, argued that the foundation of going global lies in cultivating solid and high-quality content. "More importantly, we must break the boundaries between online literature, dramas and games, enabling mutual adaptation and synergy so that strong IP can form a full industrial chain of cultural output."

Local lawmakers and political advisors emphasize the coordinated role of technological innovation, institutional safeguards and talent cultivation to sustain the cultural export momentum in 2026.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a central enabler. Fu Binxing, a member of the 13th Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the CPPCC and president of Huace Group, highlighted her company's "Guose" large model, which enables rapid multilingual translation and intelligent editing of film and television content, cutting overseas distribution costs by 50 to 60 percent.

Institutional innovation is also under discussion. Tao Kuangchun, a member of the 14th Beijing Municipal Committee of the CPPCC, has proposed piloting a "cultural project exchange" to establish transparent mechanisms for IP pricing, circulation and financing. Such a platform, he argued, would address the structural financing challenges faced by asset-light cultural enterprises and provide capital support for overseas expansion.

At the national level, China's Ministry of Commerce stated at a January 26 press conference that in 2026 it will roll out a coordinated package of foreign trade policies, introducing new supportive measures to encourage service exports in competitive sectors including culture.

Talent remains another bottleneck. Chen Chunyong, a deputy to the 14th Fujian Provincial People's Congress has proposed launching a "Fujian Cultural Global Talent Program," backed by dedicated funds to cultivate professionals who combine deep knowledge of Chinese culture with international operational expertise.

Scholars see these efforts as part of a systemic upgrade.

Jiang Xiaojun, professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, noted that digital technologies not only reconstruct cultural production and dissemination models, but also reshape the global cultural trade landscape. AI and big data enable even small-scale cultural producers to access overseas markets more easily, shifting cultural communication from passive viewing to immersive experience, he pointed out.

He Tianping, an associate professor at the School of Journalism and Communication at Renmin University of China, framed cultural export as a systemic project. "We need to improve coordinated talent training across industry, academia and research institutions, and accelerate the construction of independently controllable platform ecosystems. The shift should be from 'borrowing ships to go to sea' to 'building ships to go to sea,' so that Chinese culture can play a more proactive role in the global digital civilization."