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I'm Rebecca Canther. I'm the search for China's first global pop star.

When I moved from the US to China 11 years ago, I went out searching for music to

help me to understand this country. I bought CDs and studied the lyrics to help

me learn Chinese. I was a regular at a hidden dive bar that brought in Indie

rock bands from Beijing and Shanghai. I even ended up marrying one of the

musicians I met there. Hello, Dan. Music lovers in China know all the bands

from the US and UK. But if you ask most people in the West, they probably couldn't

name you one big Chinese pop star. Leaving my husband at home with his

guitar, I headed out to find out how the Chinese government are hoping to change

that.

Alongside the banks of the Sujo Creek in northern Shanghai, you'll find the China

Music Industry Park. It's AIM, a national initiative by the state to find its

first global pop star.

Right now, their hopes are pinned on one very ambitious singer. 31-year-old

Ruhan Ja is one of the first popular artists to be actively promoted to the West

by the Chinese government. The studio and everything in it is supplied by the

government. Wow, this is a really impressive space you have here. Is this all for

you? Yes, this is my rehearsal studio. It's like my second home. I spend all of the

time in here. Wow, so show me around. It's vast. Mirror is along one side, a

stage big enough to fit a five-piece band at one end, and state-of-the-art sound

...