RedNote’s Success and Beijing’s Soft Power in Southeast Asia

INTRODUCTION

Chinese apps are gaining popularity among users in Southeast Asia, leading global new downloads in 2024, according to a recent report from mobile analytics platform Adjust. Among Chinese social media apps, RedNote (also called Little Red Book) has expanded its presence in Southeast Asia, making the region its second-largest market outside mainland China. As of early 2023, Malaysia had 2.5 million active users, and Singapore had 0.74 million. Today, RedNote is one of the most popular social media apps in Southeast Asia (see Table 1). The app’s growth accelerated when millions of users from Western countries—dubbed “TikTok refugees”—joined after the proposed U.S. ban on TikTok in January 2025.

Table 1: RedNote’s Ranking among the Top 50 Popular Social Media Apps in Southeast Asia

	Google Play Store	App Store (iPhone)	App Store (iPad)
Vietnam	17	22	11
Philippines	38	36	19
Indonesia	34	26	21
Malaysia	7	15	7
Singapore	10	7	5
Thailand	N/A	22	13
Cambodia	14	14	15

RedNote’s deep integration into local economic, cultural, and political systems raises the question of whether the app’s success serves as a vehicle for Beijing to extend its soft power in Southeast Asia. This article examines RedNote’s popularity across various sectors in Southeast Asia and assesses the regulatory levers that could serve as a channel for Beijing to project its soft power.

REDNOTE’S MULTIDIMENSIONAL ROLES

RedNote’s popularity in Southeast Asia is evident from the critical roles the app plays in various sectors, including local tourism, e-commerce, cultural exchanges, and political engagement. By leveraging user-generated content and an interest-based algorithm, RedNote has become the preferred app for personalised recommendations on travel planning, shopping, beauty, and lifestyle in China. Its widespread use in Southeast Asia has not only transformed the local tourism industry but also reshaped its e-commerce ecosystem, introducing local users to a unique Chinese consumption culture that combines social entertainment with commercial choices.

Data from RedNote shows that Southeast Asia has become a top-tier travel destination for Chinese RedNote users, ranking only behind Japan, South Korea, and the United States. Moreover, as shown in Table 2, content about Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore has attracted the most online engagement, which has led to real-world choices: Malaysia has overtaken Thailand as the top Southeast Asian destination for Chinese tourists in 2025. Recognising the key role RedNote has played in shaping Chinese travel preferences, Tourism Malaysia has announced plans to form an official partnership with RedNote to attract more Chinese tourists in preparation for the upcoming Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM2026) campaign.

Furthermore, unlike mainstream travel apps that focus on popular attractions, RedNote’s algorithms guide Chinese tourists to lesser-known locations throughout Southeast Asia. This unintended support helps the region’s tourism businesses recover from the severe impacts of COVID-19 and further develops small-scale tourism.

Table 2: Number of Views and Participants of Selected Hashtags on Topics Related to Southeast Asia (as of September 2025) 

Hashtag	Total Views (billion)	Total Participants (million)
#Malaysia(马来西亚)	10.24	3.52
#Thailand(泰国)	8.85	1.47
#Singapore(新加坡)	5.31	2.00
#Travel in Thailand(泰国旅行)	4.59	0.86
#Life in Singapore(新加坡生活)	2.66	1.01
#Travel in Thaiand(泰国旅游)	2.30	0.39
#Myanmar(缅甸)	1.60	0.74
#Travel in Singapore(新加坡旅游)	1.43	0.44
#Life in Thailand(泰国生活)	1.22	0.21
#Southeast Asia(东南亚)	1.20	0.14
#Vietnam(越南)	1.14	0.28
#Thai Cuisine(泰国美食)	1.08	0.13

RedNote’s popularity also has a profound influence on regional e-commerce ecosystems, shaping the shopping behaviours of local customers, particularly the ethnic Chinese community. RedNote differs from traditional shopping platforms, which are primarily product-centric. Instead, it combines social engagement with commerce, using user-generated content and influencer marketing to inform and guide purchasing decisions. The app’s rapid growth is driving the expansion of the digital agency market in Malaysia and Singapore—home to a sizeable and diverse ethnic Chinese population, including local Chinese, new immigrants, and Chinese nationals. These agencies provide tailored services to help local businesses connect with their target audiences. To support this, local governments in Malaysia conduct workshops to promote the growth of small-scale enterprises through RedNote.

Surveying 1,521 Generation Z Chinese youth in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, the study found that frequent engagement with Chinese apps leads to a deeper understanding of Chinese culture, a stronger sense of connection with mainland China, and an increased desire to promote Chinese culture online.

Beyond its commercial value, RedNote plays a crucial cultural and political role within ethnic Chinese communities. It serves as a network-building platform for new immigrants and Chinese nationals to stay connected with mainland China, while also strengthening the bonds between local Chinese communities and their counterparts from the mainland. In Malaysia, RedNote is increasingly used as a tool for local Chinese to reconnect with their relatives in mainland China. Chinese RedNote users have also voiced their admiration and sympathy for the Malaysian Chinese community’s efforts to preserve Chinese culture and education despite being a minority.

Moreover, the app offers a digital platform for political participation and engagement within the local Chinese community. During Malaysia’s 15^th General Election in 2022, RedNote unexpectedly became a platform for democratic engagement. Young Malaysian voters used it to document their participation, share posts of their ink-stained fingers, and rally their peers to vote for change. To foster closer ties with the ethnic Chinese community, senior Malaysian government officials, including Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook and Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming, have recently created accounts on RedNote.

REDNOTE AND CHINESE SOFT POWER

The efficacy of RedNote in projecting China’s soft power abroad is subject to debate. Beijing views RedNote’s rise very favourably, aligning with its broader strategy of exporting Chinese culture and boosting China’s global discourse power. Chinese state media describe RedNote as a conduit for grassroots cross-cultural engagement, interpreting its popularity as evidence of not only “a measurable shift in global perceptions of China” but also a “paradigm shift in how China’s soft power works globally.” From Beijing’s perspective, the apolitical and ordinary content on RedNote not only promotes mutual understanding through people-to-people exchanges but also helps break Western stereotypes of China by allowing foreign users to experience authentic Chinese culture. A Global Times article argues that the “friendliness and openness” of Chinese netizens effectively challenge the Western perception of China as an “information cocoon.” 

A recent study on Chinese app usage among Southeast Asian youth further reinforced Beijing’s official narratives. Surveying 1,521 Generation Z Chinese youth in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, the study found that frequent engagement with Chinese apps leads to a deeper understanding of Chinese culture, a stronger sense of connection with mainland China, and an increased desire to promote Chinese culture online. Through in-depth interviews with 73 respondents, the study noted that the widespread use of Chinese social media apps like RedNote and TikTok is positively linked to an improved perception of China’s national image. One respondent stated, “China has gained significant power in recent years, and we are very proud of this. We now see a version of China that is different from its past. This provides a guarantee for us.” Many users also interact with Chinese netizens and visit China in person, further strengthening their favourable views of the country.

However, foreign perceptions of RedNote’s popularity are mixed. Western media and policy analysts acknowledge the app’s growth as “an unexpected win for China’s soft power push,” which not only boosts the sense of national pride among Chinese netizens but also marks a “new phase” of the escalating digital “Cold War” between China and the U.S. A new type of propaganda—one that features “extremely normal and mundane portraits of daily life”— has allowed Beijing to present an alternative view of China’s image to foreign audiences, challenging traditional perspectives of Chinese people and society. Critics have raised alarms that Beijing could utilise RedNote to bolster its geopolitical influence by manipulating public perceptions and shaping strategic narratives abroad. These worries stem from RedNote’s potential security risks, as the China-based app must comply with national regulations and its algorithms are closely monitored by the government.

Although Southeast Asian countries benefit from RedNote’s commercial reach, they remain cautious of the potential risks associated with the app’s politicisation in promoting Beijing’s geopolitical goals. For example, in March 2025, Chinese RedNote users made historical claims to the Philippine province of Palawan, asserting that the island, initially linked to the 14^th-century Chinese explorer Zheng He, rightfully belonged to China. Although Beijing has never officially supported this claim and some Chinese netizens dismissed it as a “complete rumour”, the Philippine government quickly debunked the assertion, describing it as a “strategic disinformation and malign influence campaign targeting an international audience” to strengthen China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea.

While acknowledging the lack of evidence indicating that such posts by users were part of a state-sponsored propaganda campaign, regional observers remain wary of the “ultranationalist and hawkish” rhetoric on RedNote, which could distort public views of the South China Sea disputes. Malaysian scholars worry that the younger generation, largely uninformed about geopolitical matters, is susceptible to influence from content about the South China Sea disputes on RedNote.

REDNOTE AND CHINESE STATE REGULATION

Beijing has recently tightened its legal controls over the Chinese digital market through a series of key laws, such as the National Intelligence Law (2017), Cybersecurity Law (2017), Data Security Law (2021), Personal Information Protection Law (2021), and Regulations on Network Data Security Management (2024). These regulations are unified by the core principle of Beijing’s digital governance mode—digital sovereignty—giving the state extensive authority to oversee both domestic and foreign digital companies operating within the country. For example, Article 37 of the Cybersecurity Law stipulates that firms that “gather or produce personal information or important data” while operating in mainland territory “shall store it within mainland China.” The Data Security Law further requires the government to establish a national system for conducting security reviews of data that may impact national security and exercise “outbound security management” over important data gathered or generated by firms operating in mainland China.

China’s strict data regulations present a challenge for its digital companies expanding globally, as their mandatory compliance with Beijing’s rules often clashes with the more market-oriented data laws of other nations. Consequently, a common approach for leading Chinese tech companies like Tencent and ByteDance is to run separate domestic and foreign versions of their apps to meet different local requirements. Beijing supports the “one app, two system” model, which not only maintains strict domestic internet oversight but also helps export China’s digital infrastructure and enhance its positive global image.

Table 3 outlines the key distinctions among various versions of Chinese apps created by major Chinese tech firms. Research indicates that foreign versions of Chinese apps offer enhanced protection for data security and user privacy. Features like real-name registration and keyword filtering are primarily used in the domestic versions of Chinese apps, which researchers say weaken user privacy protection. However, this does not mean that foreign versions of Chinese apps are free from Beijing’s regulations. A study by the Citizen Lab found that WeChat users are also susceptible to Beijing’s content surveillance, which helps the app train its system to censor content posted on domestic WeChat accounts.

Table 3: Key Distinctions between Different Versions of Chinese Social Media Apps

Unlike its rivals, such as WeChat and TikTok, RedNote operates a single, censored app designed initially for its home audience. The choice of a single version is possibly driven by three considerations. First, RedNote learned lessons from past failed efforts to create localised versions of the app abroad. Between 2021 and 2022, RedNote launched several region-specific apps, including Uniik, Takib, habU, and S’More for Japan, Spark for Southeast Asia, and Catolog for North America and Europe. However, these apps did not gain significant local market share, likely because RedNote did not invest enough in promotion or localisation.

Second, the app’s appeal to the overseas Chinese community, coupled with Beijing’s strict control over the platform, alleviated official concerns that information from abroad could pose a threat to national security. RedNote’s widespread use by overseas Chinese makes it easier for Beijing to censor Chinese content on the app without fearing safety risks. Finally, the unanticipated rise of RedNote, fueled by the influx of “TikTok refugees,” has given Beijing a prime opportunity to showcase its cultural confidence and cultivate a benevolent national image. This approach is reflected in the state’s framing of the app as a space for genuine cross-cultural dialogue, where global users interact with a uniquely Chinese digital experience.

The fact that the Chinese authorities have allowed foreigners to access the app, which was originally developed for a domestic audience, reflects a greater sense of cultural confidence and a desire to project it far beyond China’s shores.

This inherent feature renders RedNote more vulnerable to government content regulation than platforms like TikTok and WeChat, despite the app’s efforts to improve its compliance with local laws in North America and Europe by adding region-specific provisions to its privacy policies. Since it operates from mainland China, RedNote must follow not only China’s legal system but also its ideological principles. As outlined in the app’s community guidelines (see Table 4), RedNote prohibits users from posting content that breaks laws and threatens national security, while encouraging posts that align with the “mainstream values of contemporary society.” These values, unique to the domestic version of Chinese apps, focus on core socialist values, including national values (prosperity, democracy, civility, and harmony), social values (freedom, equality, justice, and rule of law), and individual values (patriotism, dedication, integrity, and friendship). 

Table 4: RedNote’s Community Guidelines

Domain		Summary	Details
Values		RedNote advocates for users to publish content that aligns with the mainstream values of contemporary society.	a. Comply with the Constitution, laws, and regulations b. Practise core socialist values c. Promote patriotism, collectivism, and socialism d. Disseminate correct views on history, nation, state, and culture e. Promote excellent traditional Chinese culture f. Foster social morality, professional ethics, family virtues, and individual integrity, and respect public order and good customs. g. Promote scientific spirit and popularise scientific knowledge h. Advocate positive, healthy, and uplifting trends and lifestyles
Laws and Regulations		RedNote strictly forbids behaviours that violate laws and regulations and endanger national and social safety.	a. Violating the fundamental principles established in the Constitution b. Endangering national security, leaking state secrets, subverting state power, or undermining national unity c. Harming national honour and interests, such as damaging the image of the national flag or national emblem d. Inciting ethnic hatred and ethnic discrimination, or undermining ethnic unity e. Undermining national religious policies, promoting cults or superstitions f. Spreading rumours, disrupting social order, or undermining social stability g. Distributing obscene, pornographic, gambling, violent, murderous, terrorist content, or inciting criminal activities h. Insulting or defaming others, infringing upon others’ legal rights i. Promoting terrorism, extremism, or inciting terrorist or extremist activities j. Insulting or abusing the image of national heroes, distorting or glorifying invaders and acts of aggression k. Attacking or slandering Party and national leaders, fabricating negative information about leaders, or misusing the image of leaders l. Violating public order and good customs, such as vulgar wedding practices m. Other content prohibited by laws and administrative regulations

Furthermore, RedNote’s storage and processing of user data within mainland China could enable the government to impose political censorship and expose the app to potential security risks. According to a leaked 2022 document on Beijing’s censorship of RedNote, the app systematically censored ten categories of user content, including criticisms of the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese government, as well as any material deemed a threat to national security and social stability. The document also revealed that RedNote’s censorship was twofold: it reacted instantly to direct government censorship orders and also proactively enacted internal self-censorship within five minutes of any accidental incident. Recently, RedNote was reported to collect users’ location data without consent approximately 92,000 times in a single month, sparking serious concerns over the app’s extensive privacy violations.

CONCLUSION

RedNote’s popularity across multiple sectors in Southeast Asia signifies a high degree of grassroots acceptance of the app among the region’s population, particularly the ethnic Chinese community. This could serve as a conduit for Beijing to project its soft power and promote a benevolent national image in the region. The fact that the Chinese authorities have allowed foreigners to access the app, which was originally developed for a domestic audience, reflects a greater sense of cultural confidence and a desire to project it far beyond China’s shores. The appeal of the app stems precisely from its ability to offer foreigners an authentic Chinese cultural experience by interacting with Chinese netizens on everyday issues. But the authorities in Southeast Asia must remain cognisant that the content and narratives on RedNote tend to be more heavily regulated than platforms like TikTok and WeChat.

For RedNote, there is a risk that regional governments could move to pressure the company to address concerns over the app’s security risks, adhere to local content laws, and mitigate the concerns over Beijing using it as a platform to advance its political narratives. Failure to comply could risk regional governments moving to limit access to the app.

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This is an adapted version of ISEAS Perspective 2025/99 published on 5 December 2025. The paper and its references can be accessed at this link.