China’s hard power keeps undermining its soft power

Employees prepare food for customers in China's first official Hello Kitty-themed restaurant in Shanghai in April 2016. | REUTERS

Nov 9, 2026

Well, that didn’t take long. At the end of last month, Sanrio announced it was ending a merchandise collaboration with Japanese spy drama “Vivant” after Chinese state media accused the hit series of portraying China negatively.

Days earlier, CCTV and the Communist Party-run Global Times had attacked the show’s second season, in which a fictional Chinese intelligence agency, Xinxi, tortures members of Japan’s secret “Betsuhan” unit. The outlets called the scenes a distortion of history and an example of “China threat” messaging.

Then came the commercial fallout. On Oct. 28, Sanrio’s Chinese subsidiary canceled its Hello Kitty collaboration with the show and all related promotions, citing content inconsistent with the company’s corporate philosophy. Reuters reported that Sanrio also deeply apologized for the concern caused.

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