by Tan Aik Keong (AK)
China's rise in recent years has stopped being confined to traditional economic and manufacturing strength — it's rapidly claiming ground in cultural creativity, tech innovation and global markets all at once. From the world's top-grossing animated film Ne Zha 2, to the globally popular game Black Myth: Wukong, to BYD's world-leading 1-megawatt ultra-fast charging technology, to innovative consumer brands like OPPO, Vivo and Xiaomi, and now AI frontrunner DeepSeek — China's rise is playing out across every front at once.
Cultural exports: from box office to game charts
Ne Zha (2019) was a milestone for Chinese animation, but its sequel Ne Zha 2 went further still, taking the top spot among the world's highest-grossing animated films on the strength of its box office and cultural reach. It's not just a marker of Chinese animation's rise — it's a demonstration of how competitive Chinese cultural creativity now is globally. Ne Zha 2's success reflects genuine confidence in China's cultural exports, and signals that Chinese cultural products are increasingly finding an international audience.
In gaming, the homegrown title Black Myth: Wukong swept global markets, quickly becoming one of the best-selling games worldwide. It didn't just excel on game design, user experience and interactivity — more importantly, it skilfully blended traditional Chinese martial arts with modern game mechanics, showcasing China's cultural distinctiveness. Its success shows Chinese creative industries now carry real market pull globally, and points to serious future potential in global entertainment and interactive media.
Hardware and EVs: leading, not following
In tech, Chinese companies' innovation capability stands out sharply. In new-energy vehicles, BYD unveiled the world's first 1-megawatt (1MW) ultra-fast charging technology, lifting charging power via an unprecedented 1500V architecture — far beyond Tesla's current charging standard. That breakthrough doesn't just dramatically improve EV charging efficiency; it establishes Chinese companies as technology leaders in the global new-energy vehicle market, a clear marker of China's strategic positioning and lead in the sector.
In smartphones, OPPO, Vivo and Xiaomi have already successfully broken into international markets, quickly capturing a significant share of global smartphone sales. These brands keep innovating on hardware, imaging and charging speed, weaving advanced technology into consumers' daily experience — so Chinese brands are no longer just shorthand for value for money, but a symbol of quality, innovation and technological progress.
AI: DeepSeek and a new kind of leadership
Artificial intelligence is where China's strategic position in future economic and technological development shows most clearly. DeepSeek, an AI system developed entirely in China, has not only built a reputation across the global AI community — its exceptional reasoning, comprehension and interaction capabilities have quickly seen it recognised as a genuinely revolutionary product within the industry. DeepSeek's success shows Chinese companies are no longer just following the technology — they're starting to lead the global AI wave.
Closing: a rise measured in more than GDP
Together, these examples paint a striking trend: China is rapidly moving away from a development model built mainly on low-end manufacturing, and toward high-tech, cultural creativity and smart manufacturing — actively building premium brands and global influence. Whether it's an animated film's box-office miracle, a game industry's global craze, or a technology lead in new energy and AI, these are all real snapshots of China's rise.
In this era of globalisation, China's rise isn't confined to traditional economic indicators — it's showing up across cultural soft power, technological innovation and global brand influence all at once. From Ne Zha 2 and Black Myth: Wukong's success in global cultural industries, to BYD, OPPO, Vivo, Xiaomi and DeepSeek's breakthroughs in tech, Chinese companies are standing more and more confidently at the centre of the world stage.
These success stories don't just point to where China is headed — they set a new benchmark for global markets. As China keeps investing more resources and effort into technological innovation, cultural creativity and industrial upgrading, its standing on the global economic and cultural map will keep climbing, and its influence will keep growing.
Part of the AK AI Corner column. Originally published in Oriental Daily (东方日报) on Mar 22, 2025.