COL Digital Founder Urges Global Sharing of Chinese Micro-Dramas at Davos

“We wondered, how can such outstanding products like micro-dramas be exclusive to Chinese audiences? They should serve the entire world,” said Tong Zhilei, founder and chairman of a leading digital publishing group, during a special session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He outlined the company’s strategy to expand China’s micro-drama model internationally.

Chinese micro-dramas are now positioned alongside Hollywood blockbusters, Korean dramas, and Japanese anime as one of four major cultural phenomena reaching global viewers across more than 160 countries, Tong explained during a Tencent-hosted event, with Yicai Global serving as a media partner.

Last November, a short-form video app supported by the company, ReelShort, topped worldwide daily download charts. Its micro-drama platform, FlareFlow, by September 2025, had already surpassed TikTok and Netflix in North American downloads.

The company is actively creating content in Hollywood and leveraging artificial intelligence to reduce animation production costs to just a tenth of traditional expenses, while shrinking production timelines from three years to just three weeks. Tong predicted that micro-dramas could eventually eclipse the worldwide long-form video market, valued at around USD 100 billion.

This international expansion builds on swift growth within China. The micro-drama market in China reached CNY 50.5 billion (roughly USD 6.9 billion) in 2024, outpacing the country’s CNY 40 billion box office revenue despite being a relatively new format—less than four years old compared to over a century for traditional films.

The pioneer of the micro-drama format five years ago, this company transformed traditional 40-50 minute TV episodes into one-to-three minute segments designed for mobile viewing and shorter attention spans. By 2022, the company’s monthly revenue in China neared CNY 100 million (about USD 14.4 million), fueling widespread industry adoption, Tong noted.

This boom has reshaped China’s production landscape, with over 100,000 companies entering the micro-drama sector and causing capacity constraints at Hengdian World Studios, the country’s largest film production hub.

Tong described this trend as China’s third wave of global outreach, following the initial export of raw materials and, later, manufacturing products after China’s accession to the World Trade Organization. Companies like Pinduoduo’s Temu and ByteDance’s TikTok exemplify a shift towards exporting business models rather than just physical goods.

“Going global with a model is a more advanced approach,” Tong said. “Because it’s a completely new model, sourcing raw materials worldwide, with a team, service model, and brand integration that’s accessible globally. We’re very pleased to be pursuing this in the cultural sphere today.”