China’s next soft-power export could be beauty

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.