AI translation is accelerating the global reach of Chinese online literature — that’s the conclusion of an annual industry report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and culture and entertainment group China Literature.

The report released last Friday found that overseas readership of Chinese web novels surged from 230 million in 2023 to 352 million in 2024.

By the end of last year, the overseas market for Chinese online literature reached 5.07 billion yuan ($700 million), up more than 25% year over year. Over 808,400 works have reached readers in more than 200 countries and regions, the report states.

Spanish-language translations saw a 227% increase, while German, French, and Portuguese releases grew from nearly zero to hundreds. Japan recorded the fastest-growing user base with a 180% year-over-year increase in registered users on Chinese literature platforms. Other top-growing markets in terms of readership included Greece, Spain, and Brazil.

At a press conference coinciding with the report’s release, Yang Chen, vice president and editor-in-chief of China Literature, highlighted that AI has significantly lowered the barriers to translating Chinese web novels.

With AI assistance, China Literature translated more novels in 2024 than in all previous years combined, domestic news outlet Caixin reported.

A subsidiary of tech giant Tencent, China Literature operates Qidian, one of the country’s largest web fiction platforms. Its international version, WebNovel, launched in 2017, was the first channel to distribute officially licensed Chinese web literature overseas.

State-run People’s Daily noted that as of November 2024, 42% of the top 100 bestsellers on WebNovel were translated using AI. Around 70% of web fiction translation teams were reported to use a hybrid model in 2024, generating drafts with AI that editors then polished. This approach cut translation costs by over 90%.

However, critics warn that AI still struggles with culturally nuanced language. Its growing role has also driven down market rates, pushing many human translators into lower-paid proofreading roles and, in some cases, slashing incomes by up to half.

The report also outlines how Chinese web literature’s influence is growing beyond online reading platforms. In 2024, China Literature’s overseas licensing deals surged by 80% year over year, while adaptations of its works reached a combined 1.237 billion views on YouTube, a 35.4% increase over the previous year.

“AI-generated video could trigger the next revolution in visual content,” Yang said at the conference. “Once the technology matures, the vast trove of market-tested web fiction will become the ideal source material.”

The report goes on to caution that improper use of AI could violate copyright protections.

On April 28, 16 major web fiction platforms, including China Literature, Jinjiang Literature City, iReader Technology, and ChineseAll, jointly issued a self-regulation pact for responsible AI-assisted content creation, stressing that technological applications must respect original authorship.

Last year, the Chinese web fiction market reversed a recent slowdown in domestic sales, reaching a value of 43.06 billion yuan ($6 billion) — up 6.8% year over year. That compares to previous growth rates of 8.8% in 2022 and 3.8% in 2023.

Editor: Tom Arnstein.

(Header image: Imaginima/Getty Creative/VCG)