China appears to have opened up a new front in its burgeoning trade war with the U.S. The propaganda front. An AI-created video went viral last week, mocking Americans who work in factories, as President Trump uses tariffs to restore U.S. manufacturing. The video depicts obese, simple-minded Americans toiling away in factories set to Chinese music. While it was shared to mock Trump and his tariff policy, many viewers believe it mocks American workers and the idea of working in factories.
China appeared to take it a step further with another AI video depicting President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Elon Musk making shoes in a sweatshop. "This is just typical Chinese arrogance," says Gordon Chang, author of The Coming Collapse of China. "It is of course insulting, it is the Chinese trying to mock Americans, and I think they are doing it because they realize how serious this situation is...so their only response, really, is being derisive."
China is clearly trying to insult Trump, but in the process is insulting the American public. And Chang believes that will backfire. "People may or may not like President Trump, but to see him (and American workers) insulted in such a way, I think gets Americans mad," he tells KTRH. "And clearly this is not working in China's long term interests."
"The Chinese Communist Party has fostered and promoted these ugly sentiments for as long as it has been in existence," he continues. "So basically the Communist Party is going to reap what it has sowed."
In the meantime, this standoff may get worse before it gets better. "The economically rational thing for (Chinese President Xi) to do is pick up the phone and talk to Trump, but I don't think he can do that, at least not now," says Chang. "I'm sure at some point they will do it because they will absolutely have to...but right now Beijing is doubling down on belligerence."
Photo: iStockphoto