Currents of Change: The unstoppable momentum of the Chinese media industrial complex

The terms “soft power” and “flows” have become commonplace among media and communication scholars when referring to East Asian media. In this chapter, I will historicize the fascination with soft power and flows, as well as several aquatic variations. Soft power, a term used in public diplomacy, gained a new East Asian face as waves of cool trendy content flowed between the Sinophone nations and regions, as well from Japan and South Korea. Meanwhile the stodgy TV dramas and films of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) were victims of political inertia. However, I will argue that the flow metaphor is now in need of revision. While streaming might be a worthwhile substitute, transfers of knowledge and expertise via co-productions and formatting, combined with the massive audience power of the PRC media market and its digital platforms, require a different way of conceptualizing the operations of media industries.