"Blades of the Guardians" reignites enthusiasm for martial arts films in North America

American filmgoers are responding enthusiastically to China's martial arts epic, "Blades of the Guardians," signaling renewed interest in the genre, also known as "wuxia", across North America.

Released on Feb 17 during the Chinese New Year holiday period, the film has performed strongly at the Chinese mainland box office in its opening week. The holiday release, adapted from the cult-favorite comic book Biao Ren, has also opened in select theaters across North America through distributor Well Go USA Entertainment.

Directed by renowned action choreographer Yuen Woo-ping, the film features a multigenerational cast of martial arts stars, including Jet Li and Wu Jing. The story centers on a perilous escort mission to deliver the "most wanted fugitive" to Chang'an, the capital of ancient Chinese dynasties.

The film has earned strong critical acclaim, with a high approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, and audience reactions have been equally positive, with the film earning a 96 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes' audience-generated Popcornmeter.

"Man, that was amazing. The action was spot on, really had me sitting tight in my seat. I've been such a big fan of the wuxia genre and it's so nice to finally see big productions of this type of genre here in America," said a filmgoer outside the packed AMC theater in Burbank, California, after attending a screening of the film.

"I was pleasantly surprised by the actress Chen Lijun. Although she comes from a traditional opera background, I think all her action scenes were incredibly beautiful, impressive, and exciting. I love her," said another filmgoer.

Martial Arts films have long found an audience in North America. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, directed by Ang Lee and released in 2000, became a major crossover success, grossing about 128 million U.S. dollars in the United States. Its success paved the way for other acclaimed works, including Hero and House of Flying Daggers directed by Zhang Yimou.

"Blades of the Guardians" reignites enthusiasm for martial arts films in North America

The total value of trade in goods between China and Germany reached 1.51 trillion yuan (around 219.3 billion U.S. dollars) in 2025, up 5.2 percent year on year, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs of China on Wednesday.

Data showed that last year, China's exports to Germany totaled 664.3 billion yuan, while imports from Germany stood at 846.3 billion yuan, suggesting Germany remained China's largest trading partner in Europe, and China reclaimed its spot as Germany's top trading partner after one year.

In 2025, bilateral trade of electromechanical products between the two countries reached 1.07 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.8 percent, accounting for 70.8 percent of the total bilateral trade.

Among them, trade in autos and parts amounted to 131.5 billion yuan, accounting for 12.3 percent of the total trade volume of electromechanical products. Trade in electronic components, computers and their parts, as well as measuring, testing and analytical instruments reached 74 billion yuan, 73.8 billion yuan and 59.8 billion yuan, respectively.

Meanwhile, bilateral trade in pharmaceuticals and medicinal materials and basic organic chemicals totaled 65.7 billion yuan and 18.4 billion yuan, respectively.

Emerging sectors also recorded growth, with bilateral trade in 3D printers and industrial robots reaching 2.6 billion yuan and one billion yuan, respectively.

The data showed that as the world's second and third largest economies, China and Germany have deeply intertwined industrial and supply chains, with economic and trade cooperation benefiting both sides, delivering real gains to businesses and peoples of the two countries.

China-Germany trade hits 1.51 trillion yuan in 2025