ARTICLES

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

Wang Zheng

The Chinese social media app RedNote has expanded its presence in Southeast Asia, making the region its second-largest market outside mainland China. RedNote, which only has a single global version for both domestic and foreign users, is subject to greater content regulation from the Chinese government than platforms like TikTok and WeChat. Ultimately, RedNote’s ability to grow its regional influence depends on its ability to address regional concerns over whether the app will be exploited by Beijing to propagate its political narratives and influence Southeast Asian netizens.

The AI-Robotics Revolution, China-US Rivalry and Southeast Asia

John Lee

China is best positioned to achieve mass implementation of ‘embodied AI’, i.e., the integration of AI with robotics. This provides significant opportunities for Southeast Asian economies keen to develop real-world applications of AI. However, how far countries will go in adopting China’s AI technology stack will be shaped by US-China strategic competition, which is increasingly being played out in the AI and robotics sectors.