China’s next soft-power export could be beauty

Focusing on neighbouring markets will help the industry build cachet

    • China’s reopening in 2023 paved the way for Joy Group, which owns Judydoll, to expand more aggressively in South-east Asia, culminating in the opening of three stores in Singapore – its first overseas outlets.
    • China’s reopening in 2023 paved the way for Joy Group, which owns Judydoll, to expand more aggressively in South-east Asia, culminating in the opening of three stores in Singapore – its first overseas outlets. PHOTO: JOY GROUP
    Published Tue, Jul 7, 2026 · 05:20 PM

    ASIA’S export champions Japan and South Korea have blazed a trail that China is now following.

    Once their industrial might was established, they began to sell soft power: music, movies, television, the aesthetic style that accompanies them – and the practical tools to achieve the look.

    Although overseas sales of Chinese beauty brands are roughly half those of South Korea, the gap is narrowing. But unlike K-beauty, which counts the US as its biggest market, the West will not be the main growth engine, at least for now.