Amid signs that U.S. tariffs are starting to bite into China’s exports, the country’s foreign ministry issued a defiant vow not to “kneel” on Wednesday, declaring: “Bowing to a bully is like drinking poison to quench thirst. […] For China, for the world, we must rise and fight on.” Some commentators in the West argue that China has the upper hand; naturally, many official voices in China agree. But some views expressed online are darker. A recent “Quote of the Day” chosen by CDT Chinese editors bleakly contrasted America’s economic, military, and technological strengths with China’s capacity for suffering:
The US Empire’s confidence has three roots: the USD, its armed forces, and high technology.
Our confidence has three different roots: tree bark, wild herbs, and Guan Yin clay! [Chinese]
Tree bark, wild grass, and Guan Yin clay (so-called for its use in Buddhist figurines, and potentially fatal to ingest) were three things widely eaten to stave off hunger during China’s Great Famine, in which as many as tens of millions are estimated to have died.
State media have sought to paint a rosier picture of the trade war. A recent report from state broadcaster CCTV, for example, focused on a Zhejiang manufacturer of home appliances which said its overseas orders had actually increased slightly since it turned toward other markets in response to U.S. tariffs. CCTV plugged the story with the hashtags “#Number of overseas orders actually increased after loss of U.S. orders” and “#For Cixi Home Appliances, the East Brightens as the West Dims.”
The story became a “rollover scene” (翻车现场 fānchē xiànchǎng), attracting widespread attention and mockery. CDT Chinese editors compiled a number of reactions from Weibo and X, ranging from the apparently convinced to sarcastic endorsement to outright scorn. Several of the comments play on the tendency for state media to wring claims of victory for China out of any new development.
蔚蓝的白日梦： If we’re winning this much after losing the U.S. market, imagine how much we’d be winning if we lost all of them.
用户130000： Winning this much, and still filtering the comments … our country is modest indeed.
股海东方不败： The point of this news is to convince everyone that even though we’ve lost the American market, business just keeps getting better and better.
心向阳光-奔跑吧少年： China May Be The Biggest Winner
花衿茵梦： Orders drying up? Cixi Appliances says just change the packaging and sell, sell, sell!
长安静轩阁主： Out of respect, I’ll take your word for it. In the meantime, you do you.
财金条： Supplier defeats customer
崇正视角： The days when they could swindle the masses like a bunch of fools are long gone. Unfortunately our bureaucrats are still deluding themselves about their prowess.
zrw2017： Striking first brings swift victory; striking harder brings more wins. Apparently in this trade war they struck too softly, too late.
bodyno214755： Isolated examples can’t show the big picture. This is just a typical propaganda play.
Momo20240808： This is just one very specific, unrepresentative example. What are things like for the majority of businesses?
轻风细雨大叔新号： Looks like everything’s great—raising tariffs boosted exports. The more sanctions, the better!
五更不惑： Looks like it’s a good thing, so let’s have more of the same!
W因紫而来： Whatever you do, don’t tell Trump about this—he’d blow his top.
OL1EiqcQJpZL9nr： Actually this isn’t impossible. According to the article, they relaxed the minimum orders, i.e. they started accepting smaller orders, and lowered the required quantities. The claim is that the number of orders increased, but it didn’t say anything about profits. If a factory does smaller production runs, then unit costs will go up. It’s obvious whether this is a good thing or not.
冲浪冠军很多年： I haven’t seen a single news report so far describing adverse effects from the trade war on domestic businesses.
jenner70873905： “A bit more suffering for the masses”—Ming Dynasty 1566 [A historical TV drama: “During the Ming dynasty, as economic prosperity masked social unrest, the corrupt official Yan Song’s oppressive policies spark a power struggle and intrigue within the imperial court.”] [Chinese]
#Winning #Losing #U.S #Market #Imagine #Wed #Win #Lost
