Chinese beverage chains like Mixue are rapidly expanding worldwide, with many consumers trying their products without realizing their origin. This growth is being seen as a test of China's soft power influence.

Makeda George steps out of a Mixue store in downtown Brooklyn, New York, clutching a bubble tea as she weaves through a crowd of teenagers. The local resident says she had been eager to try the brand after noticing a surge of new outlets opening in recent months. “I decided to try the bubble tea. It was good,” she said, adding that she did not know it was a Chinese drink chain but figured it was Asian given the branding. “Everywhere you go, every nook, every cranny, you just see them popping...