AI microdramas are a test case for China’s next big export wave

China’s US$1.2 trillion goods trade surplus last year has focused attention on electric vehicles, batteries, solar panels and industrial overcapacity. Tariffs, anti-subsidy investigations and localisation requirements have followed as trading partners respond to China’s manufacturing scale. Yet the less visible shift is happening in services. Services exports rose by 17.1 per cent year on year in the first seven months of 2026, while exports of personal cultural and entertainment services surged...