Today there are two forces at work. One is trying to divide and partition the world through notions such as decoupling and derisking, while the other is trying to connect the world as an extension of the notion of globalization that has prevailed for some three decades.

The interactions of these forces are shaping the world, generating different scenarios for different sectors of business.

Some industries such as consumer products, agricultural products and large commodities are still largely following the globalization mechanism, while in many other sectors such as artificial intelligence, semiconductor chips, smart device operating systems, and electric vehicles, we are gravitating toward a “one world, two systems” situation. Many other sectors are still in the process of sorting things out amid uncertainty and volatility.

But which force will prevail?

Of course, that’s hard to predict given the many changes today in a world with so many moving parts. However, we can see a pattern emerging.

Recently many “TikTok refugees” have joined the Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu (known as Little Red Book or Red Note in English). In just two days, more than 700,000 new users joined Little Red Book, a person close to the company said.

It was very clear that despite all the political rhetoric that has taken place, people across the United States and China have found a fundamental set of commonalities. They share similar interests and similar concerns. Americans have been finding out how China really works, and vice versa. In general, there is a lot of affinity between people who simply like to get in touch with each other and share information and ideas.

In fact, there was plenty of anger among the “TikTok refugees” who felt they have been lied to.

So how should businesses read this situation? And what implications can they draw from this?

Clearly, in the short term, businesses need to be pragmatic and should be concerned about what is going on, especially the impact of the force dividing and partitioning the world. This is especially true if your business is in a sector where “security” (in whatever aliases) can be used as a reason for dividing and partitioning.

However, in parallel, one must take a look at the bigger picture.

While the US and China will continue to be the world’s two leading economic superpowers, other nations are also increasing their economic influence. This is particularly true with the rise of Global South countries. Mechanisms such as BRICS and ASEAN are key drivers of such development.

A multipolar world will require more coordination, collaboration and consensus-building. There will be much more give-and-take.

In this new world, China’s importance will increase. While its hard power will increase, so will its soft power.

TikTok, Little Red Book and popular video game Black Magic Wu Kong are prime examples of the manifestation of China’s soft power. And more of such manifestations will emerge.

People from around the world will discover more of this side of China. Some may not like it, but many will gravitate toward it.

As the world finds out more about China, either through China’s own initiatives or through natural interactions such as those arising from the “TikTok refugees” moving onto Little Red Book, the force of connectivity will manifest in an even more profound manner.

While people understand the reality of geopolitics, they would also like to stick with what drives the fundamentals of human behavior.

The TikTok and Little Red Book phenomenon, and the Chinese AI large language model DeepSeek, have redefined the rules of the game in their respective sectors. They are evidence of Chinese innovation. Once dubbed as a “copycat nation”, China has taken less than a couple of decades to transform itself into an innovator. That’s an incredibly short time over the course of history.

Businesses, no matter where they are headquartered, are being impacted by Chinese innovations and by the increasing competitiveness of Chinese companies in one form or another. This trend will manifest itself further going forward. Businesses now need to factor these phenomena into their strategic thinking.

As these episodes develop, business leaders must take the shifting landscape into account in their global strategic planning. When will the forces that are dividing and partitioning the world and those that are uniting it, reach a tipping point ? In fact, given the direction that “great power” geopolitics is heading, how will the interrelationships among the leading great powers evolve? How will China’s evolving innovation and the increasing competitiveness of Chinese companies figure into such dynamics? And what strategic steps will businesses need to take to prepare for the new world that is coming?

The time has now come to pause and reflect.

The author is founder and CEO of Gao Feng Advisory Company, a strategy and management consulting firm with roots in China.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.