How America fell in love with China's memes
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Theo Leggett
International business correspondent
The US government says Chinese apps and online activities threaten Americans' security. But US internet users can't get enough of Chinese memes.
Industrial food-grade glycine is not a topic you'd typically expect to capture anyone's imagination. But since the summer of 2024, one Chinese amino acid manufacturer has found itself at the centre of a TikTok sensation in the US. American users of the social media site have become preoccupied with posts from the company, Donghua Jinlong, turning them into wildly popular memes as the company coyly played along. And so, word about Chinese industrial glycine quickly spread.
In recent weeks, a looming ban on TikTok in the US also saw Americans flock in surprising numbers to another popular Chinese social media app called RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu – which literally translates as Little Red Book. Some three million users in the US signed up to RedNote in the days ahead of a law banning TikTok over national security concerns briefly came into force before President Donald Trump gave it a 75-day reprieve.
These self-proclaimed "TikTok refugees" joined around 300 million active users of Xiaohongshu, who are mainly in China, leading to a burgeoning relationship between Chinese and American citizens as they swapped jokes, memes and even helped each other with their homework.
It comes at a time when tensions between the US and China are especially heightened amid concerns over national security and fears of an impending trade war between the two countries. Yet social media appears to be providing American and Chinese citizens with an opportunity to overcome the "Great Firewall" that typically separates their country's internet activities. But could this collision of two rich but very different meme cultures be more than just a laugh? And can it provide a common ground between people so often separated by the rhetoric of their political leaders?
Certainly, while the migration to RedNote is new, American fascination with Chinese memes is not.
In 2024, Chinese memes and content burst into American digital culture in a strange and surprising way. During the summer, "glycine girlies" granted Hebei-based industrial glycine manufacturer Donghua Jinlong unexpected celebrity status. Glycine is an amino acid used in various food products. Separately, meme-makers also embraced bizarre videos about a character named "Little John" who uses galvanised steel beams to carry out absurd home renovations in a running joke that originated on China's BiliBili platform.
Perhaps you've heard of "u swan, he frog"? In August 2024, influencer YourKris published a post on RedNote in which she discussed relationship troubles with her boyfriend. She was met by a flood of supportive comments from Chinese users featuring turns of phrase such as "you swan, he frog". The literally translated idiom was subsequently used by Americans online to describe everything from celebrity relationships to political candidates.The popularity of Chinese memes reveals how American users are expressing a fascination with China right at the moment when tensions between these two countries, especially in terms of technological dominance, have arguably never been higher. And it is providing the opportunity for some seemingly unlikely interactions that appear to defy the geopolitical narrative
It is worth noting that while Americans have the right to freedom of expression, Chinese citizens do not enjoy the same levels of free speech and certain phrases or topics are blocked on social media platforms and messaging apps.
According to some American creators who share Chinese content online, the reason it performs well is the same reason any content does well: it's funny, well-made, and feels authentic.
Donghua Jinlong, the glycine manufacturer from Hebei, only became a meme after one of its advertisement videos became an unexpected TikTok hit in mid-2024. Donghua Jinlong's cheery social media marketing for an industrial product that is not even available directly to consumers struck many as bizarre. "We saw that video and we all were just collectively like, this is a thing," says Diana R, the creator behind the popular meme account citiesbydiana. "We spent an entire month pretending we were buying industrial chemicals from China and making influencer-style videos for a product that's only sold business-to-business." The meme was prominent enough that The Washington Post, The New Yorker and several other outlets devoted coverage to it.
Donghua Jinlong coyly played along by sending merchandise packages to creators. The meme spread to platforms beyond TikTok with self-proclaimed "glycine girlies" creating Donghua Jinlong fan content that poked fun at the clichés of social media posting associated with celebrity influencers and brands.
But the American obsession with a Chinese chemical manufacturer may also have a political edge to it. Particularly in an election year in which Donald Trump, who ultimately won the election, campaigned on a promise to impose steep tariffs on businesses like Donghua Jinlong.