As China’s cultural and creative industries expand into global markets, Chinese creative content is reaching wider international audiences than ever before. Beyond commercial success, this process raises important questions about cultural adaptation, cross-cultural communication, and digital governance. Understanding how Chinese creativity travels and evolves across different cultural contexts has become an increasingly important area of research.

On June 12, the USC–SJTU Institute of Cultural and Creative Industry (ICCI) hosted the 2026 Youth Space Workshop under the theme “Going Global: Chinese Creativity at a Global Moment—Digital Production, Cultural Negotiation, and Cross-Border Governance.”

The workshop brought together early-career scholars, journal editors, and industry practitioners from China and abroad to discuss emerging trends, research questions, and industry developments related to the global rise of Chinese creativity.

Rethinking Chinese Creativity in a Global Context

In her welcome remarks, Ke XUE, Vice Dean of ICCI, described the Youth Space Workshop as a platform for interdisciplinary dialogue and the exchange of new ideas. Since its launch in 2021, the workshop has explored emerging topics ranging from computational communication and the metaverse to generative technologies and the digital economy.

She emphasized the importance of creating space for early-stage research and intellectual exploration. As China’s cultural and creative industries continue to evolve, she noted that scholars have an important role to play in turning industry developments into academic knowledge and theoretical insight.

In the keynote session, Nengjun CHEN, Professor at the Institute for Global City Civilizations, Southern University of Science and Technology, proposed an interdisciplinary framework for understanding the global rise of Chinese creativity.

He argued that the international success of Chinese games, web fiction, short-form dramas, and designer toys reflects more than a series of isolated hits. Instead, it points to a broader model of cultural production shaped by rapid content creation, strong audience engagement, and localized operations.

According to CHEN, the global circulation of culture is a complex process involving technological, cultural, social, economic, and political factors. To better understand these dynamics, he proposed a framework built around five dimensions: production, cross-cultural communication, data governance, industry ecosystems, and impact evaluation.

He encouraged young scholars to draw on China’s growing global cultural presence to develop new research questions and contribute fresh perspectives to international discussions on culture, media, and creative industries.

Building Dialogue Across Industry, Academia, and Publishing

A key feature of this year’s workshop was its effort to bring together scholars, industry practitioners, and journal editors. By connecting research, industry experience, and academic publishing, the workshop created a space for meaningful dialogue on the global rise of Chinese creativity.

The workshop featured two parallel sessions. The first focused on how Chinese creative content—from games to traditional culture—travels across cultures and engages international audiences. Discussions explored topics such as cultural adaptation, audience participation, and cross-cultural communication. Participants highlighted that the global success of creative content depends not only on distribution, but also on ongoing processes of cultural negotiation and emotional connection.

The second session examined the global expansion of Chinese digital platforms. Participants discussed platform governance, cross-border data flows, digital labor, and the challenges of operating across different regulatory and cultural environments. The discussions highlighted the complex governance issues and power dynamics that accompany the global growth of digital platforms.

Throughout the workshop, senior scholars and journal editors encouraged participants to move beyond describing industry trends and focus on developing original theoretical insights. They emphasized the importance of drawing on China’s global experience to contribute new perspectives to international research on culture, media, and digital platforms.

Connecting Research with Industry Practice

To complement the academic discussions, participants visited miHoYo to gain firsthand insights into the global growth of China’s game industry. The visit explored topics including digital content production, IP development, and cross-cultural market expansion.