Shih-Diing Liu, Professor of Communication in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Macau, was invited to speak at the internationally renowned annual Harvard College China Forum (HCCF).
Professor Liu participated as both guest speaker and moderator of the sub-forum titled Culture Going Global: Platform Logic and the Transformation of Soft Power. The session brought together business leaders and educators to examine the global impact of Chinese digital platforms on cultural globalization.
This marks the second consecutive year that Professor Liu has been invited to the forum. In 2025, he moderated a related session titled Culture Going Global: China’s Creative Influence on the World, continuing his engagement with debates on culture, platforms, and global influence.
The 2026 sub-forum addressed key questions concerning the evolving dynamics of China’s global cultural presence: as China’s economic and infrastructural footprint expands worldwide, does its cultural influence grow in tandem—and if so, through what mechanisms? To what extent does the international success of Chinese platforms rely on exporting culturally specific content, and how are platform logics reshaping traditional notions of soft power?
The session featured four distinguished speakers: Zhilei Tong, Chairman and CEO of COL Digital Publishing; Max Ren, Senior Media Executive leading U.S. operations for Shanghai Media Group; Annie Gong, North America Marketing Lead at DHgate; and Baojun Zhang, Vice President of Beijing Language and Culture University. Drawing on cases ranging from micro-drama platforms and language education to transnational broadcasting and cross-border e-commerce, the discussion highlighted the diverse pathways through which Chinese platforms engage global audiences.
Professor Liu concluded that these cases point to a significant transformation in the nature of cultural influence. Rather than relying solely on culturally specific, narrative-driven forms of soft power, emerging models increasingly combine platform infrastructures, market dynamics, and algorithmic mediation to shape global cultural flows.
The forum attracted hundreds of attendees. The session was also attended by Phillip Cheng Yee Sing, Director of Galaxy Entertainment Group, who was invited to speak at another sub-forum titled The New Global Business Order.
Founded in 1997, the Harvard College China Forum is an annual conference on U.S.–China relations organized by students at Harvard University. It is widely recognized as North America’s leading and longest-running student-run conference on China, bringing together leaders from business, academia, and public policy. Past speakers have included Jack Ma, Lei Jun, Stephen Schwarzman, Ray Dalio, Kevin Rudd, Lawrence Culp, and Graham Allison.
