Global IP giants and licensing powerhouses converged in Shanghai last month, spotlighting China’s rise as the world’s fastest-growing licensing market at the record-breaking 18th China Licensing Expo (CLE).
The 18th CLE, hosted by the Licensing Industry Branch of the China Toy and Juvenile Products Association, was held in Shanghai from Oct 15-17. This year’s expo reached new heights in scale and influence, covering an exhibition area of 65,000 square meters, bringing together 566 exhibitors, and showcasing over 2,600 domestic and international IPs across all categories.
From lining up for hours to get limited edition products, to filling chats with expressive memes and spending hundreds on collectible blind boxes, more young people are willingly opening their wallets for the IPs they love. Animation, art, culture, video games, fashion, books, music, and sports are among the 11 categories covered by the IPs.
Among the standout participants was world-renowned licensor Hasbro, whose 1,900-brand portfolio, including Transformers, My Little Pony, and Monopoly, drew crowds and underscored the company’s deepening ties with the Chinese market. Hasbro has been generating cherished moments for generations of children and families worldwide since its beginnings in the United States in 1923.
“We have billions of fans globally, and I would say that we are the number five global licensor now. And a big amount of that fandom is here in China. We had over 16 billion dollars of retail sales last year globally alone. To the point of how important China is from a licensing perspective, it’s a really strong market for us,” said Marianne James, senior vice president of global licensing at Hasbro.
As of 2022, China ranked as the world’s fifth-largest licensing market and the second largest in Asia, an ascent that continues to draw strong confidence from global licensors.
“The IP industry in China is exploding. It’s amazing how big this is. So we’re coming up here to look at all of the new IPs that are coming out of China,” said Neal Rudge, President of Pacific Licensing Studio, one of the leading licensing agencies in Greater China and Southeast Asia.
Fueling China’s IP boom is the emotional resonance these brands hold. With a growing number of young consumers eager to invest in the characters and stories they cherish, the emotional consumption market is surging, projected to grow at a 12 percent compound annual rate and surpass 2 trillion yuan (about 281 billion USD) in China alone by 2025, according to the latest Emotional Consumption Research Report.
“We’ve been here for just over 10 years as a direct licensing business here in China. All the best stories and designs and innovation is coming from this region and this market. And we’re seeing so much amazing growth trajectory, particularly with different demographics. Traditionally we’ve got brands that target kids, but now the adult consumer, you know, is wanting to get the same level of joy that kids get. And so we’re seeing a real step change in what products we need to offer in the brands that we offer those consumers,” said Jo Pasco, vice senior president of consumer products APAC of Universal Products and Experiences.
Shanghai expo showcases China’s rise in global IP licensing
Chinese airlines have refunded more than 500,000 tickets for flights to Japan within three days after Chinese government issued a travel alert for Japan-bound Chinese tourists amid heightened bilateral tensions.
On Nov. 15, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its embassy and consulates in Japan urged Chinese citizens to avoid traveling to Japan in the near future, citing recent rising attacks targeting Chinese nationals in Japan.
More than a dozen Chinese airlines, including the three biggest companies China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and Air China and some private carriers, have offered free refund and rescheduling options to passengers who have booked flights to Japan between Nov. 15 and Dec. 31.
Experts warn that Japan could see a 50-percent drop in visitors from China if the Japanese government fails to take action to rebuild mutual trust damaged by recent erroneous remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi over China’s Taiwan.
“This (travel cancellation) actually reflect a deeper logic on two levels. The first is the restructuring of consumer psychology. A McKinsey survey shows that safety has become the top priority for Chinese outbound tourists. When diplomatic rhetoric crosses red lines, Chinese tourists quickly activate risk-avoidance mechanisms — this is no longer mere emotional boycott,” said Qiao Shanxun, executive director of the Low-altitude Economic Development Research Center of Henan Industry and Trade Vocational College.
Data released by Japan’s National Tourism Organization shows that in the first nine months of this year, nearly 7.5 million tourists from the Chinese mainland visited Japan, making it the largest source of visitors to the country.
“This amounts to a hemorrhage for Japan’s second-largest pillar industry. Data shows that inbound tourism spending has surged to become Japan’s second-largest export sector, trailing only the automotive industry. In 2024, Chinese tourists not only arrived in large numbers but also topped the spending charts. The cancellation of around 500,000 tickets will directly translate to the evaporation of hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars in immediate spending,” Qiao said.
Qiao predicted that the number of Chinese tourists to Japan will drop by 40 to 50 percent if the Japanese government does not take proper measures to repair the mutual trust between the two countries.
“For future trends, we can take the ‘THAAD’ crisis as a reliable historical model for assessment. In the short term — through the end of this year — the China-Japan civil aviation markets will enter a deep freeze, with strong inertial effects. Back then, the ‘THAAD’ crisis led to a nearly 50-percent drop in the number of Chinese tourists to South Korea, and full recovery took as long as 18 months. The current cancellation of 500,000 tickets represents only the initial reaction,” he said.
Wave of cancellations hits Japan-bound travel from China amid diplomatic tensions
