https://www.scmp.com/rss/521120/feed Samer Elhajjar is a senior lecturer at the Department of Marketing, National University of Singapore Business School. He is also a co-founder of the Nation Brand Research Initiative. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Samer Elhajjar ,Niraj Dawar Samer Elhajjar ,Niraj Dawar For years, debates about US-China competition have defaulted to the obvious categories: ships, chips, tariffs and security pacts. Soft power was often treated as America’s home turf, the domain of Hollywood, top universities, global brands and a political ideal that still attracts even when it disappoints. That assumption is getting riskier. The world has entered a new emotional weather pattern: fatigue. It’s a structural condition shaped by overlapping shocks: pandemic after-effects, inflation... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3344992/fatigue-rewriting-us-china-soft-power-contest-starting-asean?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3344992/fatigue-rewriting-us-china-soft-power-contest-starting-asean?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2026 08:30:08 +0000 Samer Elhajjar  Samer Elhajjar  As tariff pressures mount and the global order grows increasingly fragmented, China faces a pivotal challenge, not merely in how to navigate external shocks but how to strengthen itself from within. US-China trade tensions have only accelerated a deeper transition already under way. For years, Chinese policymakers recognised the vulnerabilities of export-reliant growth – overexposed to global cycles, dependent on foreign demand and reactive to international policy shifts. With rising... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3309415/chinese-consumers-buying-local-has-become-statement-national-pride?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3309415/chinese-consumers-buying-local-has-become-statement-national-pride?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 May 2025 01:30:14 +0000 When Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD recently surpassed Tesla in global sales, headlines celebrated a milestone in the ongoing EV race. It was a moment of triumph for a Chinese home-grown brand that, not too long ago, was little known outside Asia. Beyond this milestone lies a deeper, less discussed breakthrough: BYD may have outpaced Tesla in sales, but the more interesting shift is how it’s beginning to play the long game of brand-building. For years, Chinese firms have been defined by... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3305830/chinese-brands-are-impressing-world-can-they-inspire-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3305830/chinese-brands-are-impressing-world-can-they-inspire-it?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Apr 2025 08:30:07 +0000