As the tariff turmoil between the US and China continues, President Trump has earned himself a new nickname on Chinese social media.

Over the years, Chinese netizens have come up with many different nicknames for the American President, whose Chinese name is usually transliterated as 川普 Chuānpǔ for phonetic reasons (read more here: Why Trump Has Two Different Names in Chinese).

But Chinese netizens call Trump many other things than just Chuānpǔ. You might have come across nicknames like “Comrade Build the Country” or “Build-the-Country Trump.”

 
Trump as China’s “Comrade Build-the-Nation”
 

“Build-the-Country Trump” or “Trump the Nation-Builder” (川建国 Chuān Jiànguó) has been an online joke on Chinese social media for years, often used alongside the related nickname “Comrade Build-the-Nation” (建国同志 Jiànguó Tóngzhì).

The joke began circulating in the early days of Trump’s first presidency in 2017, though even earlier there were humorous memes and satirical stories claiming Trump wasn’t truly American at all — the story goes that he was born in Zigong, Sichuan Province (四川自贡) in China.

When it was confirmed that Trump had won the presidency, proud Sichuan locals joked that he was one of their own, claiming that his Chinese name Chuānpǔ paid homage to their province, as it contained the “Chuan” from “Sichuan” (which literally means “river”). From this, an entire fabricated yet fascinating story about Trump’s Chinese roots emerged.

According to these stories circulating since late 2016, Trump’s father Fred Trump (referred to as Old Trump 老川普) was a businessman who came to China during World War II and stayed until 1947, a year after Donald’s supposed birth. This version of events claims that Old Trump lived through both the Anti-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War while in China.

The story further claims that the Trump family lived on Guangda Street in Zigong’s Guojia’ao neighborhood (光大街郭家坳), now the site of the Salt Industry Drilling Team’s club. Trump was said to have been born there before leaving China. Zigong is known for its high-quality, expensive salt, and according to the tale, Old Trump shipped this salt to northern China or back to the US, earning a fortune that laid the foundation for the Trump family’s future wealth — and Trump’s eventual rise to the White House.

Old screenshot from a Weibo user who found it funny to discover the father-in-law actually believed the fabricated story about Trump being from Sichuan.

What does this entire online fairy tale have to do with Trump’s old nicknames? When Trump was in power, it soon appeared that he was doing all kinds of things that raised eyebrows. He once said that Korea used to be part of China, and then made a series of moves — like withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, pulling out of the Paris Climate Accords, and announcing that the US would leave UNESCO — which Chinese netizens saw as a weakening of US global influence, and therefore indirectly as a boost to China’s rising power. The trade war and Trump’s tough stance on Chinese tech companies were also, in a way, seen as forcing China into tech self-reliance, further accelerating the country’s domestic innovation.

Comrade Trump memes.

All of this combined earned Trump the nickname “Comrade Build-the-Nation,” jokingly fuelling the idea that he was actually China’s ‘secret agent’ on a mission to undermine American imperialism and support China’s rise on the world stage.

 
Trump the “Tariff Beauty”
 

Trump’s latest nickname incorporates some of the same sentiments that led to him being jokingly called a “comrade” of China.

Amid ongoing tariff tensions, some Chinese netizens，including some creators of meme-style ‘nation personification’ videos (鬼畜动画) on Douyin and Bilibili, as well as some commenters on Weibo and Xiaohongshu, have started referring to Trump as “税美人” (shuìměirén), which literally means “Tariff Beauty.”

Meme-style videos on Bilibili and Douyin titled “Shuimeiren.”

The nickname is a clever pun, since it sounds exactly the same as the Chinese name for the Sleeping Beauty fairytale: 睡美人 (shuìměirén) (there is also a South Korean 2016 movie of the same name 税美人, Tax Beauty).

What makes the nickname extra catchy is the wordplay: “税” (shuì) means “tax” or “tariff,” and “美” is also an abbreviation for America (from Měiguó, 美国). So, “税美人” not only brings to mind a fairytale princess, but also evokes the idea of “the American who taxes,” perfectly capturing Trump’s dramatic tariff policies in a playful way.

The nickname was especially used in comment sections when Trump began threatening additional tariffs, eventually bringing the total tariffs on Chinese goods to 145% on April 10.

Meanwhile, the “Comrade Trump” meme is more relevant than ever. Both China’s official and unofficial reactions to Trump’s tariffs reflect a general belief that the policies will ultimately harm the American economy and its global influence, while boosting China’s domestic market (also read our latest here).

Trump the Tariff Beauty, on Weibo.

On April 16, Harvard University Assistant Professor Moira Weigel published a commentary titled “Long Live Comrade Trump’s Tariffs” in The New York Times, which was later elaborately discussed by Chinese media outlet Guancha.

The article opens by briefly referencing China’s “Comrade Build-the-Nation” meme. Weigel argues that there’s some truth to the sentiment behind the nickname, suggesting that Trump’s tariffs won’t bring manufacturing back to the US, but will instead strengthen China’s position in global e-commerce. She notes that Americans will simply end up paying more for the same goods they’ve always bought, while Chinese companies are accelerating innovation, expanding internationally, and finding clever ways to circumvent tariffs by working with third-party companies and establishing US-based warehousing.

There’s perhaps also another layer to Trump’s new nickname — it also suggests that he is asleep, and, meanwhile, like the “Comrade” meme, is actually hurting the US and strengthening China. One netizen suggested that when it momentarily seemed Trump was backing down by exempting electronic goods from the tariff, a handsome prince had given him a kiss that made him wake up.

But with Trump later declaring that there was no “exception” at all, it seems that the confusion — as well as tariff tensions — are only growing. For now, there’s no happy ending in sight.

By Manya Koetse

(follow on X, LinkedIn, or Instagram)

PART OF WHAT’S ON WEIBO CHAPTER: “THE US-CHINA TARIFF WAR ON CHINESE SOCIAL MEDIA“

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Here’s a roundup of curated top trends and noteworthy discussions on Chinese social media this week. But I’m still scrolling — this page updates with throughout the week, so check back & refresh for the latest.

🔄 Last updated: April 18

 
For insights into the escalating US-China trade war, check our week 15 article here.
 

Chinese Tea Brand Gu Ming Goes Viral for Collab with Honkai: Star Rail Game

Since 2023, the power of creative collabs has become crystal clear: younger Chinese consumers especially love it when tea or coffee chains team up with unexpected partners, like Luckin and Maotai, or the controversial LeLeCha and Lu Xun and HeyTea with the Jingdezhen Ceramics Museum.

In the latest successful collabs, you see more ACG (Animation, Comics, and Games) mixing it up with China’s homegrown coffee and tea franchises, like the collab between HeyTea and Hello Kitty, which became a big hit in late 2024.

On April 18, Chinese tea brand Gu Ming (古茗, also known as ‘Good Me’) launched its new collaboration campaign with the Chinese anime-style game Honkai: Star Rail (崩坏：星穹铁道), featuring a range of collectible tea cups, bags, and other accessories.

The collab immediately shot to the top of Weibo’s trending list, and online queues went wild — with over 1.2 million people reportedly waiting in virtual lines to place an order. Some video showed employees getting overwhelmed with all the orders coming in. The surge led to widespread frustration over app crashes and users being logged out mid-process. By Friday, everything had sold out, and fans were already preparing for the next round of lining up.

 

🏛️ Verdict in Second Trial of Much-Discussed Post-Engagement Rape Case

An older story has gone viral again this week, following the verdict in a second high-profile trial in the so-called “Engagement Rape Case” (订婚强奸案). In May 2023, a young couple from Datong, Shanxi, held their engagement ceremony—they had met two months earlier through a matchmaking service. Along with an expensive engagement ring, the man’s family also paid a bride price of 100,000 yuan ($13,600). However, after the engagement party, the groom-to-be forced himself on the bride-to-be at his apartment, despite her resistance. She panicked, set fire to his curtains, attempted to flee, and eventually called the police.

In December 2023, the man was convicted of rape and sentenced to three years in prison. He appealed the ruling, but in the second trial verdict announced this week, the Datong court rejected Xi’s appeal, upheld the original conviction, and confirmed the sentence. The man continues to deny any wrongdoing.

This case has become significant because it touches on so many layers: sexual consent, bride price customs, traditional gender norms, sexual violence, and online doxxing. Among the more debated details is the misunderstanding surrounding the victim’s medical report, which showed her hymen was intact—leading some to mistakenly believe this meant rape was impossible. In reality, as confirmed by medical research, hymen status is not an accurate or reliable indicator of prior sexual activity or assault (source). Another controversial element is the role of the perpetrator’s mother, who exposed the victim’s private information online, further inflaming public debate.

Discussions around the case remain heated. While some netizens express concern that the verdict may contribute to growing distrust between men and women—arguing that men may now feel vulnerable if they cannot prove sexual consent with their own fiance or wife (and even suggesting they should make up sexual consent contracts now) —many others voice strong support for the victim, believing that the man should have received an even heavier sentence.

 

💔 Domestic Violence Allegations: Russian-Chinese Couple’s Relationship Into the Spotlight

The relationship between the influencer couple of the Russian ‘Maozi’ (毛子) and Chinese ‘Meigui’ (玫瑰) has become a trending topic of debate these days due to rumors of domestic violence. The couple have been running a popular daily life family vlogging account (毛子一家生活点滴). On Douyin, they have over two million fans, on Weibo, more than 2.7 million. Central to their vlogs is their young son Chuanchuan. On April 15, Meigui virtually dropped a bombshell by exposing how she’s a victim of domestic abuse, writing:

“You were really good to me. So good, that I became your possession. The psychological manipulation was endless. I couldn’t have friends, needed your permission to go anywhere, and if I disobeyed, you’d hit me (it only started this year and grew more intense). I used to romanticize pain, thinking it was your way of showing me love. I’d laugh at your jokes and never held grudges. But when my life was threatened, I couldn’t just sit back and ignore it anymore.”

Now that Meigui has come forward on Weibo to share screenshots and videos suggesting she is being abused and scolded by her husband, even in the presence of their son, netizens are worried about her but also about the young boy and how his parents’ abusive relationship is affecting him, leading to the hashtag “Poor Chuanchuan” (#心疼川川#) momentarily becoming top trending on April 15. Meanwhile, ‘Maozi’ also created an account on Weibo, where he denied ever hitting his wife. “Zero tolerance for domestic abuse,” one commenter wrote. “I support Meigui and hope she gets a divorce soon.”

 
By Manya Koetse

(follow on X, LinkedIn, or Instagram)

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