Chinese netizens are trolling Trump's trade war with viral memes

The U.S. president's sweeping tariffs have triggered a tit-for-tat exchange between Washington and Beijing, escalating tensions between the two economic giants and fueling fears of a global recession while rattling financial markets.

Trump says his policy is a response to years of being "ripped off" by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing back to the United States, forcing companies to employ U.S. workers.

China's online users are leveraging advances in artificial intelligence to generate memes that point out how many U.S. consumer goods, like smartphones and shoes, rely on low-cost Chinese labor.

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 United States: nothing.

His dozens of videos railing against the United States have accumulated tens of millions of views on TikTok.

"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.

'Two-faced behavior'

The user, based in northeastern China's Liaoning province and who asked to be identified by his online persona "Buddhawangwang", told AFP the posts were a way of "venting my anger".

The 37-year-old poster said he moved to California in 2019 but "threw away" his green card four years later, angry over "prejudices against China".

Now, he feels vindicated in his quest to "debunk Western propaganda".

For many in China, long dubbed "the world's factory", the notion of Americans producing their own shoes or smartphones is seen as absurd.

AI-generated videos putting Trump, U.S. Vice President JD 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.

Chinese netizens have also taken aim at what they see as U.S. officials' hypocrisy: criticizing China while benefiting from globalization.

One post traced a dress worn by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt to Chinese online shopping platform Taobao.

"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.

Another post shared by Beijing's foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning showed Trump's trademark "MAGA" hat marked "Made in China", with a price tag indicating an increased cost.

'Made in China'

Elsewhere, Chinese users 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 $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 towards stacks of boxes behind him.

"There certainly is nationalism here," Gwen Bouvier, a professor at Shanghai International Studies University who researches social media and civic discourse, told AFP.

The videos make "fun of how rude JD Vance is and, by extension, the Trump administration", Bouvier said, a timely clapback against the vice president's "peasants" comments.