Explained: Why Chinese Are Mocking Americans, President Trump With AI-Generated Memes – News18

Last Updated:April 11, 2025, 16:21 is

The US and China have been entangled in a trade war after President Donald Trump announced stringent tariffs on Chinese imports.

With the US-China trade tensions at an all-time high, a range of sharp memes mocking Americans is flooding social media. Besides the public, Chinese government officials have also jumped onto the bandwagon, sharing memes to troll the US government. From taking digs at President Donald Trump to creating AI-generated images of Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Vice President JD Vance, the memes have been circulating widely across Chinese and US social media.

Here’s a breakdown of what has unfolded after Trump’s sweeping tariffs.

US vs China: Trade War

Earlier this month, the Trump administration announced import tariffs on almost all countries. While the plan included a baseline tariff of 10 per cent on all imports, the White House went for higher rates for partners that it believed were the “worst offenders.” Hours after the changes were announced, it resulted in major market turmoil, sparking concerns across various countries.

With the tariffs announced last week, China was hit with an additional 34 per cent tariff on top of the 20 per cent levied by the US government earlier this year.

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In a quick retaliation, Beijing imposed a 34 per cent tariff on US imports to China. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Li Jian, speaking to the media, accused the US of imposing tariffs in an “abusive manner,” adding that they must have an attitude of “equality, mutual respect, and reciprocity instead of such bullying practices.”

In an even more dramatic move, Trump announced a 90-day pause for countries hit by the US tariffs but exempted China and raised the tariffs for the country to 125 per cent. The US accused Beijing of a “lack of respect” for threatening that it would impose tariffs of 84 per cent on US imports. “I did a 90-day pause for the people that didn’t retaliate because I told them ‘if you retaliate, we’re going to double it’—and that’s what I did with China. It’s all going to work out amazing,” Trump said.

Hitting back in equal measure, China increased its tariff on US imports to 125 per cent. “The U.S. imposition of abnormally high tariffs on China seriously violates international and economic trade rules, basic economic laws, and common sense and is completely unilateral bullying and coercion,” said the country’s finance ministry.

US vs China: Memes Take Over

With the global trade war escalating every minute, it has sent the internet into a frenzy with the Chinese mocking Americans. One of the most viral memes shows obese, middle-aged Americans working on a sewing machine in garment factories. The video takes potshots at how the country’s workforce would look after Trump’s tariff announcements.

Another AI-generated picture shows a man working while wearing the iconic red MAGA cap with the message “Make America Great Again.”

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Several posts targeted President Trump alongside Elon Musk, showing them as workers after tariffs hit the US economy.

The series of memes didn’t end there. Mao Ning, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also joined in. Chinese spokesperson in the US Liu Pengyu doubled down on the same by showing how cap prices could hike by over 100 per cent.

The memes have also sparked a debate about Trump’s ultimate motive behind imposing stiff tariffs on China, with the country’s foreign ministry vowing to fight till the end against America’s “typical unilateralism and protectionist economic bullying.”