Why China cares about being cool all of a sudden

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. It was America’s day of giving thanks, and China was having a moment. A giant float with fang-baring toy monsters was trundling through Manhattan for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, as crowds of onlookers whipped out their phones to capture the looming 16-foot balloons—Chinese soft-power icons starring in one of America’s biggest cultural events.

The spectacle marked new heights in the global craze around Labubu dolls, created by a Hong Kong artist and sold by Beijing-based toy maker Pop Mart. For the past year, the mania had been growing: Lady Gaga accessorized a Labubu on her Hermès purse; Cher, David Beckham and Marc Jacobs also clipped the accessory to their bags. The dolls became so hard to come by that some were resold for as much as 20 times their retail prices, while zealous fans traveled to China to hunt down fast-selling goods.

Now Pop Mart is opening a 7,000 square foot flagship store in Manhattan’s Times Square, with even more stories planned in malls across America. The hype around Chinese cultural goods is giving Beijing’s global profile some timely gloss, just as American soft power is losing some of its sheen. China has long coveted the immense influence the U.S.

enjoys through its cultural appeal, and President Trump, with his trade wars, chaotic diplomacy and military actions, has created openings for Beijing to polish its pitch of being a benign and responsible power. Enter fluffy dolls and online influencers into this geopolitical arena. For decades, China has tried making friends abroad through staid state-led initiatives, from sharing pandas to building language institutes.