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Dong Lei

With Donald Trump back in the Oval Office, TikTok is back online for American users. One intriguing aspect of the TikTok ban saga is that hundreds of thousands of users in the US have migrated to RedNote, the Mandarin-based social media app known as Xiaohongshu in China.
For many of these young Americans, gleefully self-styled as TikTok refugees, it was their first direct interaction with mainland Chinese people. This contact is revealing important facts about the state of our world, in particular US-China relations.
Technology has changed the world by making it smaller. Over the past 30 years, the World Wide Web has accelerated global connectivity. Now, generative artificial intelligence (AI) lets us communicate almost instantly across different languages, with increasingly reliable auto-translation between major languages.
Perhaps soon, further development will enable truly seamless global communication. More than 2,000 years ago, Terence, the Roman-era playwright, wrote: “I am human, I consider nothing human alien to me.” Today, it is possible for billions of ordinary people to converse across not just languages, but also political and social identity divides, without needing to first embark on rigorous studies into, say, another culture or academic disciplines like philosophy and history.
It begs the question: why did this not happen sooner? And is this happening soon enough – before we all end up in a terrifying global conflict? Early techno-utopians in the 1990s promised a unified world, but this has yet to materialise. With the new-found mass connections between social media users in China and the US, should we ask if this is finally coming to pass?


As US RedNote users marvel at China’s low cost of living and the fact that most Chinese people do not feel oppressed, a grand narrative that has been perpetuated by many China experts in the US media and think tanks is being dismantled.
These experts, part of the American elite, have long garnered and safeguarded power through a unique access to knowledge. They claim to know China and expect ordinary people to defer to their expertise. These experts would, of course, argue that Generation Z users do not understand economics and point to China’s low wages and its economic structure to justify its low cost of living.
But despite the efforts of the US political class to portray China as an existential enemy, these TikTok “refugees” are increasingly indicating that they will not follow the lead. America’s elites need to change their parochial views, or they may not remain in leadership for long.
The same could apply to Chinese leaders as well. As RedNote becomes an international phenomenon, anti-China propaganda machines such as the Falun Gong media empire have kicked into action. One such influencer registered a RedNote account and tested its censors with a Tiananmen Square “Tank Man” photo, among other things, to try to get his account banned by the authorities as quickly as possible.

Beijing’s leaders must consider whether to take the bait and start subjecting all US users of RedNote to the same strict censorship that Chinese users operate under – or reconsider their internet security strategy.
Nationalist Chinese media personality Hu Xijin has long pleaded with the central authorities to relax online restrictions. He has been ignored. Meanwhile, China’s censorship and the Great Firewall have become a massive industrial complex.
That China’s Generation Z social media users love their country and government is apparent from how they are promoting the benefits of Communist Party rule to their new-found American friends. Could the authorities learn to trust them more?
Clearly, the government in Beijing is not going to fall just because it decides to start gradually relaxing its control on society. If anything, it would help enhance its power and cement an unparalleled legacy for President Xi Jinping. Even Mao Zedong could not mobilise an entire generation of youth in both China and the US.
As more young Americans engage with their Chinese counterparts, stereotypes are being broken down and mutual understanding is growing. This grass-roots diplomacy could pave the way for more nuanced foreign policies and a departure from the binary Cold War mentality that has dominated US-China relations.




Yes, challenges remain. Deep-rooted distrust exists on both sides, fuelled by decades of political rhetoric and cultural misunderstandings. Overcoming these barriers will require effort from both governments and their citizens. Beijing’s leaders must weigh the benefits of a more open internet against the risks of external influence, while Washington must reconsider its approach to China, acknowledging the complexity of the relationship and the potential for cooperation.
But in youth we trust. Despite the gloom and uncertainty, the world will hold together for a brighter and truly integrated future where people seek to go beyond national allegiances and create a common community where human conditions are better understood and suffering is alleviated.
By fostering open dialogue and encouraging cross-cultural exchanges, we can build a world where both commonalities and differences are celebrated. The power of ordinary people, connected through technology, can drive this change. It is up to our leaders to support and facilitate this movement, rather than hinder it with outdated policies and narrow-minded agendas.


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US-China relations

US and China should follow lead of their youth bonding on RedNote

For many young Americans, RedNote has given them their first direct interaction with mainland Chinese people. Photo: SCMP

Jeff Widener took this June 5, 1989, photograph of a lone Chinese man trying to block a line of tanks heading east on Beijing’s Changan Boulevard in Tiananmen Square. It became known as the “Tank Man” picture. Photo: AP

Trending off TikTok? US users going to China’s RedNote face challenges, analysts say

A download screen for the social media app Rednote, also known as Xiaohongshu, which has had an influx of US users fleeing TikTok in recent days. Photo: Reuters

TikTok awaits a ruling by the US Supreme Court on a law banning it if it is not sold to a non-Chinese buyer. Photo: AFP

RedNote connects as others appear to fail

Some TikTok users in the US have turned to another Chinese-owned app, Xiaohongshu or RedNote. Photo: AFP

Duolingo sees a spike in TikTok refugees learning Mandarin as they move to RedNote

Language-learning app Duolingo has seen a surge in US users learning Mandarin. Photo: Shutterstock

A social media influencer in New York films a video for his RedNote account after leaving TikTok. Photo: Reuters

With deal-maker Trump, business cooperation could reset US-China ties

Illustration: Craig Stephens

CATL founder and chairman Robin Zeng at an interview on the sidelines of an industry conference in Ningde, Fujian province, China, on November 7. Photo: Reuters

An Xpeng Aero helicopter, part of the Land Aircraft Carrier, is displayed at the Xpeng Aero booth at the CES 2025 tech show on January 8 in Las Vegas. Photo: AP

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Their interactions help debunk Washington’s ‘China threat’ narrative and should give Beijing the courage to relax its censorship and trust Chinese youth


Their interactions help debunk Washington’s ‘China threat’ narrative and should give Beijing the courage to relax its censorship and trust Chinese youth.


TikTok

TikTok ban

RedNote

Social media

Censorship in China

Censorship

China’s internet censorship

US-China trade war

US-China tech war

Donald Trump

Technology

Internet

Apps

China society

ChatGPT and other generative AIs

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


US and China should follow lead of their youth bonding on RedNote

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Their interactions help debunk Washington’s ‘China threat’ narrative and should give Beijing the courage to relax its censorship and trust Chinese youth

Their interactions help debunk Washington’s ‘China threat’ narrative and should give Beijing the courage to relax its censorship and trust Chinese youth