National/regional news and analysis

Labubu is not the only Chinese cultural icon to be making a big hit in 2025

While Beijing has been showing off its latest military hardware to an array of international leaders, Chinese cultural icons are making their mark with a very different audience.

At Naomi Osaka’s opening match at the US Open, she had a Labubu attached to her racket bag as she walked on to court which attracted a lot of attention. After the match she told reporters that the doll was a tribute to Billie Jean King (it has big BJK trademark glasses and she calls it Billie Jean Bling).

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