Liu Cixin speaks to journalists on September 18, 2025 in Chengdu, Southwest China’s Sichuan Province, ahead of the Galaxy Science Fiction Convention. Photo: Lu Wenao/GT

China's most celebrated sci-fi writer Liu Cixin said that a defining feature of Chinese science fiction is its optimism toward the future, compared to its foreign counterparts.

"I think a significant portion of Chinese sci-fi pays more attention to positive futures," Liu told the Global Times on Thursday, ahead of the Galaxy Science Fiction Convention in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Many contemporary global sci-fi works project today's crises and anxieties into dystopian or dark scenarios, according to Liu, noting that Chinese writers often lean toward more hopeful possibilities.

"Many [Chinese] works are filled with a sense of hope, describing bright, colorful futures with an optimistic spirit," Liu said.

Liu, the author of The Three-Body Problem, which won the Hugo Award in 2015, however, said that defining a distinct Chinese sci-fi identity is more complicated than it may appear.

"Chinese science fiction is a rich, diverse field. Each writer has his or her own completely different style, and the differences between them are often very large," he said.

Instead of drawing sharp lines of distinction, Liu emphasized that the similarities between Chinese sci-fi and its foreign counterparts outweigh their differences.

"The common ground between Chinese science fiction and works from places like the US and Europe is much greater than the differences," he said.

"What stands out more is what they share, not what separates them. After all, science fiction itself is a global form of literature."

The concept of "Chinese-style science fiction" has gained traction in recent years, highlighting works rooted in China's realities and traditions while offering unique visions of the future.

Liu's remarks suggest that rather than being confined by rigid definitions of "Chinese-style science fiction," the genre thrives through diversity of imagination while contributing to a shared global conversation about humanity's future.

This year's Galaxy Science Fiction Convention kicks off in Chengdu on Friday and is scheduled to run until Sunday.