China in the World Series Part 3: The Chinese Emphasis on Culture: Manifestation of Nationalism or a Return to Basics?

Description

Panel 2: From ‘TikTok Refugees’ and the Hanfu Movement to Statecraft: The Forces that are Shaping Chinese Culture Now

At the start of the year, the influx of “TikTok refugees” to RedNote (小红书), a Chinese social media and e-commerce platform, inadvertently exposed the international community to Chinese culture at an intimate level; this accidental “people-to-people” exchange was eye-opening to many. Meanwhile, the resurgence of traditional clothing, manifested in the Hanfu Revival Movement, represents an organic, grassroots engagement with national identity and the diffusion of culture.

Indeed, as China emerges as an economic superpower, its cultural influence to date has had a mixed international reception, especially following the official inclusion of culture as one of the Four Confidences by the government in 2017.

Such developments invite discussions that explore the tension between organic cultural development and deliberate statecraft in shaping modern Chinese culture, as well as the uber globalisation via the intervention of Western culture.

Period	20 Nov 2025
Event type	Conference