"Through watching this documentary, many people want to go to China, do some cultural exchanges, learn the Chinese language, or make friends. They learned about China from another perspective," he says.
"Fiction is a bridge for people to communicate in the same language," he says.
"Hosting this documentary gives me a strong sense of success," he says."I'm not simply doing translation. I'm really a cultural bridge that can introduce more people to Chinese online novels or their anime adaptations."
When meeting the writers, Dewees says that all the writers are very welcoming, just like family.
"They are very nice people, having a sensitive heart and compassion to understand the relationships between people," he says.
"They all work really hard, doing a lot of research on Taoism, Chinese history or Western history."
Now Dewees is co-authoring a time-travel romance with a Chinese writer. The story follows a soul living through different historical periods and countries, including ancient China, France during the World Wars, and the United States.
Currently, online Chinese literature boasts 575 million users. By 2025, Yuewen Group, a leading platform for Chinese online novels, had translated and shared over 13,600 works worldwide. As of Nov 1, 2025, the platform had attracted more than 400 million global user visits.
He, with the China Writers Association, says one reason Chinese online literature has reached many overseas readers is its communication advantages. Chinese online literature has developed a new literary form alongside the growth of the internet, offering infinite space for content, a new interactive mode between readers and writers, paid subscription models, and the fastest-ever transmission speeds.
Another reason is that the country's development over the past four decades has also sparked growing interest among people worldwide in learning about a country with a long history and rich culture, he adds.
Compared with elite writing, online novels are easier for readers to start with, he says, following a good storytelling tradition enhanced by rich, unbridled imagination.
"For many people, following updates on the novels serves as a companion in their daily lives," he says.
