{"id":26532,"date":"2025-04-24T04:00:04","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T04:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=26532"},"modified":"2025-04-24T04:23:32","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T04:23:32","slug":"on-tiktok-chinese-manufacturers-open-a-new-line-in-the-trade-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=26532","title":{"rendered":"On TikTok, Chinese Manufacturers Open a New Line in the Trade War"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"article-summary\" class=\"css-79rysd e1wiw3jv0\">Videos on the social media app, filmed at factories in China, urge viewers to buy luxury goods directly, as tariffs drive up prices. Americans are receptive.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"sizeMedium layoutVertical verticalVideo css-1d5j3k5\" aria-label=\"media\" role=\"group\" data-testid=\"VideoBlock\">\n<div class=\"css-1xb94ky\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-n27z15\" style=\"padding-bottom:150%\">\n<div class=\"css-mm3pwi\">\n<div class=\"css-1g7y0i5 e1drnplw0\">\n<div class=\"css-rdbib0 e1drnplw1\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-18ow4sz e1drnplw2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"height:0\">\n<div class=\"css-vxcmzt\">\n<div class=\"css-79elbk\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1cueeje\" style=\"padding-bottom:150%\">\n<div class=\"css-1ihorw\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-ew1078\">\n<div class=\"css-ptry2i\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"css-ktho12 e3rygrp0\"><span class=\"css-jevhma e13ogyst0\" data-testid=\"video-summary\">Videos on social media sites like TikTok, urging Americans to buy directly from factories in China, have been viewed by millions. The New York Times spoke to a worker at a Chinese jewelry factory who made some of the viral videos.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<section class=\"meteredContent css-1r7ky0e\">\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Chinese manufacturers are flooding TikTok and other social media apps with direct appeals to American shoppers, urging people to buy luxury items straight from their factories. And amid the threats of sky-high tariffs on Chinese exports, Americans seem to be all in.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The pitch in the videos is that people can buy leggings and handbags exactly like those from brands like Lululemon, Hermes and Birkenstock, but for a fraction of the price. They claim, often falsely, that the products are made in the same factories that produce items for those brands.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">American influencers have embraced the videos, promoting the factories and driving downloads of Chinese shopping apps like DHGate and Taobao as a way for shoppers to save money if the price of goods skyrockets under President Trump\u2019s tariffs on Chinese imports. DHGate was among the 10 most downloaded apps in Apple\u2019s and Google\u2019s app stores last week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The videos are surging in popularity on TikTok and Instagram, racking up millions of views and thousands of likes. Many of the posts also seem to have elicited Americans\u2019 sympathy for China in comments, such as \u201cTrump bullied the wrong country\u201d and \u201cChina won this war.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-1\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The videos offer a rare outlet for Chinese factory owners and workers to speak directly to American consumers through social media apps that are technically banned in China. And their popularity in America highlights increasingly vocal support for China on social media, similar to the outcry over the federal government\u2019s potential ban of TikTok.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt\u2019s activating people politically in a similar way that you saw when we were going to cancel TikTok, but this time in the context of tariffs and the overall relationship with the two countries,\u201d said Matt Pearl, a director who focuses on technology issues at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. \u201cIt does demonstrate their ability to communicate with American consumers to drive a message about our dependence on Chinese goods.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-kbghgg\">\n<div class=\"css-121kum4\">\n<div class=\"css-171quhb\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-asuuk5\">\n<div class=\"css-7axq9l\" data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1dv1kvn\" id=\"optimistic-truncator-a11y\">\n<hr \/>\n<p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F04%2F24%2Ftechnology%2Fchinese-factories-tiktok-trade-war.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">log into<\/a>\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F04%2F24%2Ftechnology%2Fchinese-factories-tiktok-trade-war.html\">subscribe<\/a>\u00a0for all of The Times.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1g71tqy\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Already a subscriber?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"log-in-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F04%2F24%2Ftechnology%2Fchinese-factories-tiktok-trade-war.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">Log in<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Want all of The Times?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"subscribe-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F04%2F24%2Ftechnology%2Fchinese-factories-tiktok-trade-war.html\">Subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Videos on the social media app, filmed at factories in China, urge viewers to buy luxury goods directly, as tariffs drive up prices. Americans are receptive.Videos on social media sites like TikTok, urging Americans to buy directly from factories in China, have been viewed by millions. The New York Times spoke to a worker at a Chinese jewelry factory who made some of the viral videos.Chinese manufacturers are flooding TikTok and other social media apps with direct appeals to American shoppers, urging people to buy luxury items straight from their factories. And amid the threats of sky-high tariffs on Chinese exports, Americans seem to be all in.The pitch in the videos is that people can buy leggings and handbags exactly like those from brands like Lululemon, Hermes and Birkenstock, but for a fraction of the price. They claim, often falsely, that the products are made in the same factories that produce items for those brands.American influencers have embraced the videos, promoting the factories and driving downloads of Chinese shopping apps like DHGate and Taobao as a way for shoppers to save money if the price of goods skyrockets under President Trump\u2019s tariffs on Chinese imports. DHGate was among the 10 most downloaded apps in Apple\u2019s and Google\u2019s app stores last week.The videos are surging in popularity on TikTok and Instagram, racking up millions of views and thousands of likes. Many of the posts also seem to have elicited Americans\u2019 sympathy for China in comments, such as \u201cTrump bullied the wrong country\u201d and \u201cChina won this war.\u201dThe videos offer a rare outlet for Chinese factory owners and workers to speak directly to American consumers through social media apps that are technically banned in China. And their popularity in America highlights increasingly vocal support for China on social media, similar to the outcry over the federal government\u2019s potential ban of TikTok.\u201cIt\u2019s activating people politically in a similar way that you saw when we were going to cancel TikTok, but this time in the context of tariffs and the overall relationship with the two countries,\u201d said Matt Pearl, a director who focuses on technology issues at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. \u201cIt does demonstrate their ability to communicate with American consumers to drive a message about our dependence on Chinese goods.\u201dWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0log into\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0subscribe\u00a0for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?\u00a0Log in.Want all of The Times?\u00a0Subscribe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26534,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26532"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26535,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26532\/revisions\/26535"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}