I think China does have large media influence over the rest of the Asian continent today. The epic miniseries produced in China are translated and enjoyed by people throughout SEA. I wouldn’t instantly expect it to show up everywhere in the developing world, but in the SEA it’s definitely there.

Despite the love of the miniseries, most people in SEA are not dreaming of being Chinese (which is of course an impossibility.) The advantage of the US may be our comparatively relaxed immigration laws.