The tariff war between the United States and China has intensified as the week progresses. China has put its 84% retaliatory tariff on the US, and President Trump is already in talks to hike US tariffs on China to 125%. With US tariffs on all other countries on pause, Chinese people, netizens included, feel a sense of being singled out.
Official online channels in China, especially the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), have largely maintained their bravado and insist on calling Mr Trump’s bluff. Mao Ning, MFA’s spokesperson, shared on Twitter a clip of an emphatic Chairman Mao Zedong speaking at a meeting about ending the Korean War. He indicated in the speech that the Chinese did not dictate the end of the war, but rather that they’d continue as long as the US wanted to fight, until they ended up victorious. Echoing the same sentiment, Chinese authorities have shown throughout this tariff war. This topic reached number 2 on Weibo’s Hot Search list with 59.56 million views.
However, less official outlets, such as state-owned newspapers, are not afraid to get personal. A trending hashtag on Weibo this Thursday says, “The Trump family made 30 billion USD in profits within a couple of days” (#特朗普家族几天获利300亿美元#), reaching number 11 on the Hot Search list with 120 million views. Despite this, most posts are not focused on making serious accusations, but rather to report on rumours.
Other trending topics include Apple rushing to ship Chinese-made iPhones back home ahead of further tariffs. This topic shot to number 1 on Hot Search with 240 million views. Similar to the previous response of a potential ban on American films, Chinese netizens’ stance has largely been, “We don’t need them anyway” or “Just use Huawei, it’s much better”. In this sense, ever-present nationalism is further backed by the rapid development of China’s tech and cultural industries.
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