Bloomberg spoke about the new soft power of China with the “scent of coffee”

Chinese coffee and tea chains are rapidly expanding their presence in the United States, attracting primarily American youth with affordable prices, unusual drinks and convenient mobile apps. Their popularity coincided with the spread in social networks of the trend “Chinamaxxing” – fascination with Chinese culture. Bloomberg Businessweek sees the expansion of these brands as a new form of Chinese soft power.

There were no Luckin Coffee stores in the U.S. in May 2025, but the chain opened its first store in New York the following month. It now has more than 20 establishments in Manhattan.

Cotti Coffee, which entered the US market in 2024, has already opened more than two dozen outlets in the country. Chagee, Heytea and Mixue tea chains are also expanding rapidly. They attract buyers including bright drinks at affordable prices and the ability to quickly order them through a mobile application – such a system is not yet fully mastered by many American competitors.

If for New Yorkers the sudden “invasion” of Chinese networks was a surprise, for experts on China it was quite expected, notes Bloomberg. Over the past five years, Chinese beverage brands have achieved significant growth in the domestic market, and then began to expand abroad, according to research firm Technomic.

Operating in a market of 1.4 billion people, the companies have accumulated experience in customer service, promotion and research of consumer preferences. When the domestic market saturated, they turned their attention to foreign countries. Chinese networks are already present in Singapore, Thailand and other Asian countries. In terms of number of establishments, Mixue even surpassed McDonald’s, becoming the largest restaurant chain in the world. The U.S. release coincided with the popularity among Generation Z of the "Chinamaxxing" trend. Zumers, according to Bloomberg, claim that their lives have entered a “very Chinese period”.

“These networks are taking advantage of a wave of soft power that they did not create or pay for,” said Shaoyu Yuan, an assistant professor of global studies at New York University.

After the return of Donald Trump to the White House, the trade confrontation between the United States and China has escalated. In April 2025, Washington raised tariffs on Chinese goods to 145%, and Beijing responded with tariffs to 125%. In June, the parties agreed on a truce and reduction of duties, and in the autumn of 2026 extended it until January 10, 2027. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the move would give Washington and Beijing more time to discuss economic issues.

At the same time, trade agreements have not eliminated strategic contradictions between the countries. In May 2025, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called China the main geopolitical challenge for Washington and said that the parties need to learn how to manage conflicts of interest to avoid war and maintain stability.

In mid-September, the United States began to apply 10% import duties on Chinese goods worth $ 200 billion. On January 1, 2019, they will grow to 25%.

On November 13, the first meeting of the China-US Joint Trade Council was held in the format of a video conference. The main attention was paid to the mutual reduction of customs duties on goods totaling about $30 billion, trade in agricultural products and mechanisms for resolving trade disputes.

The parties stressed their readiness to continue communication to reduce the list of problematic issues and build strategic stability on the basis of mutual respect. The decision to establish the council was made in May. Details of the tariff cuts (covering about 90 percent of goods) were agreed in September. On September 28, the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China announced that the tariff reduction will occur simultaneously after the implementation of the procedures provided for by domestic law.