Kanye West is set to perform in China this weekend and many are wondering why

A Chinese official made the shocking revelation during a news conference typically reserved for major political announcements: Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, was set to hold a “listening party” for his new studio album, “Vultures,” on the Chinese island of Hainan on Sept. 15.

For 33-year-old Ziteng Du, an office worker from Shanghai, and many other Chinese fans, the thought of seeing Ye in China is beyond their wildest imagination. Many fans were stunned when the strict Communist Party agreed to let one of the world’s most famous rappers perform.

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“Considering China’s conservative social values, Ye is a total outsider,” one fan commented on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of X.

Now some wonder whether tourism revenues and a desire for international recognition were at the heart of the Communist Party’s decision to allow the controversial artist to enter.

Hainan goes global

Ye’s last appearance in China was 16 years ago. Now he’s set to return, not to Shanghai or Beijing, but to a place largely unknown to foreign visitors.

“Hainan is trying hard to forge its brand as an international destination,” said Michael Zhou, founder of Jingjian, a consulting firm specializing in tourism in China. Zhou said that transforming Hainan into an international destination is a key national strategy of the central government.

However, he added that he viewed the decision to bring Ye to Hainan as a political move by the local government.

Some Internet users began complaining about Ye’s appearance on the Hainan government website even before the event was confirmed, with one comment calling Ye’s work a “blatant departure from Chinese socialist values.”

However, local authorities are desperately looking for new growth points as domestic travel has stagnated, Zhou said.

The tropical island of Hainan, nicknamed the “Hawaii of China,” has long been a top destination for domestic tourists. Last year, its tourism sector attracted 181 billion yuan ($25.5 billion), about 24% of its total gross domestic product.

But domestic tourists are now tightening their belts, and foreign travelers are not filling the gap. According to the Hainan Provincial Bureau of Statistics, foreign visitors accounted for 0.87% of all tourists to the island in the first seven months of 2024.

Decline in domestic spending

Weak domestic demand also threatens the island’s ambitious goal of attracting 207 billion yuan in tourism revenue, a 14% increase from 2023.

According to Zhou, most of Hainan’s tourist revenue comes from hotel stays and duty-free shopping.

But purchases fell in 2024, spelling trouble for an economy that relies on tax-free shopping revenues. Hainan has the world’s largest duty-free shopping mall, and the government plans to turn the entire island into a duty-free center next year.

According to customs officials in Haikou, the capital of Hainan, the number of shoppers has fallen 11% across the island since 2023, while duty-free sales fell 30% in the first seven months of 2024.

The island’s major travel retailer CTG Duty Free posted a disappointing first-half report, reporting a 12.8% year-on-year drop in revenue to 31.26 billion yuan ($4.40 billion).

“As it is the largest duty-free channel in China, a decline in duty-free sales in Hainan is inevitable,” said Charlie Chen, head of Asian Research at China Renaissance, a financial institution. He said the decline in shopper spending and average spending suggests that even wealthy shoppers are keeping an eye on their spending.

Luxury shopping may be declining in popularity in China, but the concert industry is seeing a marked improvement — a trend that has not escaped the attention of Hainan authorities.

In an official document released in May, the Hainan government pledged to give one-time payments of up to 3 million yuan to companies that host “world-class music events” on the island.

Later, a state-run news article praised Hainan’s efforts to leverage China’s visa-free policy to attract high-quality music events from abroad. The article detailed the local government’s efforts to make Hainan the first stop on foreign artists’ tours.

The strategy worked for Du, he said. The only reason he is going to Hainan is for the Ye show, he said.

Yes and connection with China

Like big concerts, Ye’s “listening parties” often take place in front of huge crowds. But there are differences; the events can include live performances, as well as DJs playing pre-recorded mixes and audience sing-alongs. Sometimes, Ye and collaborator Ty Dolla Sign don’t rap or dance at all.

Earlier this year, he canceled audition events in Florida, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Washington. An event in Taiwan scheduled for Aug. 25 was also canceled days before it was scheduled to take place, causing quite a stir.

However, on August 23, despite a 70-minute delay, the studio event in Seoul, South Korea went ahead as planned.

Ye has spoken fondly of China in the past. He defended China during the pandemic and expressed his love for the country in a 2020 interview with the New York Post.

“I love China. It changed my life. It changed my perspective; it gave me such a broad perspective. My mother, as an English professor, taught English in China when I was in fifth grade,” he told the publication.

Ye faced negative reaction in many parts of the world after he made anti-Semitic remarks in 2022 that led to the termination of a lucrative partnership with Adidas.

In China, however, the reaction to the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas may be less negative, as there has been a sharp increase in anti-Israel sentiment on social media.

The German embassy in China has begun filtering vitriolic comments on its Weibo account and criticizing users whose profile photos combined Nazi symbols with the Israeli flag.

“I don’t think the Party cares about anti-Semitism,” Du said. “I don’t care either. I’m not Jewish.”

“Their main target is Tibet,” he said.

Artists who have openly supported Tibetan independence, including Björk, Oasis and Bon Jovi, have all skipped China on their previous tours.