How the next China shock is shaping hearts and minds
No longer confined to trade and technology, competition between China and the West is now playing out in the realm of cultural imagination
For decades, China’s role in the global economy was easy to define. It made things cheaply and at astonishing scale. “Made in China” became shorthand for industrial capacity. It was often contentious, sometimes admired, sometimes feared.
That division is now eroding. In smartphones, electric vehicles (EVs) and digital services, Chinese firms are climbing the value chain, competing with Western companies and, in many sectors, leading globally. But the next China shock may take a different form.
Call it China Shock 2.0 or 3.0, depending on how you count them, but China is no longer just manufacturing the world’s products. It is increasingly manufacturing the world’s preferences, too. Especially among younger consumers, Chinese brands are shaping tastes, aesthetics and the global image of China.