While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online.
Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin.
Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers.
Photo: AFP
However, China’s online warriors have been taking advantage of the massive strides in artificial intelligence (AI) to create memes highlighting that many of the goods bought by Americans such as shoes and smartphones are made by low-paid Chinese workers.
Defiant posts have shot to the top of most-searched lists on social media, flooding platforms with patronizing comments and jokes.
In one video, a Chinese Internet user opens his hands to reveal what goods he buys from the US — nothing.
Photo: AFP
MILLIONS OF VIEWS
His dozens of videos railing against the US have accumulated tens of millions of views on TikTok, officially blocked in China, but accessible through a virtual private network.
“Donald Trump started a trade war, so... F*** MAGA,” he says in one video, referring to Trump’s campaign slogan of “make America great again.”
The user, based in northeastern Liaoning Province and who asked to be identified by his online persona “Buddhawangwang,” told reporters that the posts were a way of “venting my anger.”
The 37-year-old said that he moved to California in 2019, but “threw away” his green card four years later — angry over “prejudices against China.”
That included “fake news” about Xinjiang, the far-western region where Beijing is accused of widespread human rights abuses against minorities.
China denies the claims.
Now, he feels vindicated in his quest to “debunk Western propaganda.”
For many in China — whose status as “the world’s factory” fueled its meteoric rise as an economic superpower — the idea of Americans making their own shoes or phones is laughable.
AI-generated videos putting Trump, US Vice President J.D. Vance — who sparked outrage with comments referring to “Chinese peasants” — and tech mogul Elon Musk on footwear and iPhone assembly lines quickly went viral.
Others show rows of befuddled overweight shophands fiddling with sewing machines as Americans make clothes, shoes and electronic devices.
The alleged hypocrisy of US officials railing against China while enjoying the fruits of globalization has also been targeted. One post traced a dress worn by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt to Chinese online shopping platform Taobao (淘寶).
“Attacking ‘Made in China’ is work; enjoying ‘Made in China’ is life,” one comment read.
“Two-faced behavior. Don’t wear it then, don’t use it,” another said.
HAT JOKE
Another post shared by Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mao Ning (毛寧) showed Trump’s trademark MAGA hat marked “Made in China” — with a price tag indicating an increased cost.
Elsewhere, Chinese have taken to TikTok to show Americans how they can get around the swingeing tariffs — going to China and buying goods straight from the source.
In one, a man in a warehouse claiming to work at a factory making Birkenstocks in the eastern hub of Yiwu sold pairs of the iconic sandal for just US$10.
“We have seven colors,” he says, pointing to multiple pairs of shoes displayed on a cardboard box with the words “Made in China” printed on it.
“If you need, please contact me,” he added, gesturing toward stacks of boxes behind him.
“There certainly is nationalism here,” said Gwen Bouvier, a professor at Shanghai International Studies University who researches social media and civic discourse.
The videos make “fun of how rude J.D. Vance is and, by extension, the Trump administration,” Bouvier said — a timely clapback against the vice president’s “peasants” comments.
However, beneath the humor there is likely deep concern over the impact of the trade dispute on China’s export-dependent economy.
CENSORS
Censors on the country’s strictly regulated Internet appear to have scrubbed out narratives that warn of the effects they might have on Chinese consumers and manufacturers.
On China’s Sina Weibo platform, all comments under the hashtag “The United States will impose a 104% tariff on Chinese goods” have been removed.
By contrast, the hashtag “America is fighting a trade war while begging for eggs” — a reference to soaring prices for the kitchen staple — was viewed 230 million times.
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