The provided text discusses China’s strategy of leveraging foreign internet celebrities, particularly YouTubers like “Mr. Beast” (Jimmy Donaldson) and iShowspeed (Darren Watkins Jr.), to enhance its “soft power” and promote its companies.
Here’s a breakdown of the key points:
China’s Soft Power Strategy: China is actively inviting and embracing foreign internet celebrities to its platforms. This is seen as a purposeful government strategy to promote Chinese companies and tap into the vast fan bases of these influencers.
Targeting 1.1 Billion Internet Users: Despite blocking global platforms like YouTube and X (formerly Twitter) through censorship, China has a massive domestic internet user base of 1.1 billion people. By bringing foreign influencers onto Chinese platforms, thay aim to engage this audience.
Mr. Beast’s Debut: The famous YouTuber Mr. Beast recently made his live streaming debut on China’s Kuaishou platform, attracting a meaningful audience. He also established accounts on Bilibili and Weibo, quickly gaining millions of followers.
Benefits for Chinese Platforms: attracting popular foreign influencers helps Chinese streaming services like Kuaishou to attract new users, boost advertising revenue, and increase live streaming profits. Kuaishou’s stock price saw a rise after Mr. Beast announced his streaming plans.
Promoting Chinese Brands: Foreign influencers can also help raise awareness of Chinese companies looking to expand their global reach. iShowspeed, for example, praised Chinese products like Huawei smartphones and BYD electric cars during his visit to China. his support also boosted the popularity of a Chinese animation series in the US.
government and State Media Involvement: The Chinese government and state-owned media are actively involved in facilitating these visits and promoting them for propaganda purposes. They are inviting foreign influencers to tour major cities and create content.
Financial Incentives: while influencers generally produce their own content, there’s a possibility of financial support for content that meets specific requirements or for video reviews. However, it can be arduous to determine if influencers receive direct payment for their content.
Potential Risks: The text briefly mentions a risk associated wiht China’s live streaming, hinting at potential issues with influencer remarks, as seen with Li Meiyue.
In essence,China is strategically using the popularity of foreign internet celebrities to achieve its economic and cultural influence goals,both domestically and internationally.