Maraid Vintena in Sydney, Australia, lined up for an hour earlier this week to check the Pop Mart Labubu vending machine in her suburb. “There are four Pop Mart vending machines near my house,“ she said. “But most of the time, they're sold out. I check their website like ten times a day... I'm really addicted, but it's fun.“

　　“As you get older, life is a little bit mundane. Something small, like a Labubu, a blind box, is like a little bit of excitement,“ Vintena said, explaining why she fell in love with the doll.

　　Amid the ever-growing Labubu craze, fashion brand Uniqlo has announced to partner with Pop Mart for their new collection The Monsters.

　　It is not the only Chinese IP which gained recognition around the world. From the hit video game “Black Myth: Wukong“ last year that amassed 1.04 million concurrent players merely an hour after its debut, to the cinematic marvel of “Ne Zha 2,“ which has risen to the fifth spot on the worldwide box office chart, success of Chinese IP shows the rise of both cultural confidence and the empowerment of the country's industrial system, said Wang Ruotong, a researcher with the Tianjin Foreign Studies University.

　　Beyond the cultural sector, a number of Chinese brands have made inroads into the world-class IP categories, from the artificial intelligence (AI) to new energy vehicles and consumer technology.

　　Data from China's General Administration of Customs shows that China sustained its growth momentum on exports of new energy vehicles, with the volume of pure electric car exports topping 2 million units for the first time in 2024.

　　Chinese carmaker BYD is establishing factories in Thailand and Mexico, integrating Chinese aesthetics into automotive design.