Rednote, a Chinese exporter on social media platforms, asks local consumers to buy items they bought for us
Over the past week, dozens of sellers have broadcast live media showing goods produced for U.S. customers, saying they are no longer selling because of the 145% tariff rate imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration on Chinese goods.
In a live broadcast, the user “dingding Cloud Foreign Trade Warehouse” sold small appliances by telling the audience, including rice cookers, juicers and toasters: “The United States violated the contract.
In another video, user “Muzi has good goods”, a host eagle’s appliance is surrounded by boxes marked “trade transport containers”, saying they no longer have space in the warehouse because they can no longer send to the United States
Some sellers sell items like Costa coffee cups, but most are brands that are not yet well-known abroad, such as Ostmars and Aplx, which are sold on Amazon.
The driving force is because China announced it would help Chinese exporters sell goods at home, but touted its giants after Trump’s tariffs, although the shorter domestic consumer market is a replacement for the U.S. market. JD.com and Alibaba-owned supermarket chain Freshippo, one of Push’s retailers and e-commerce platforms, said JD.com will launch a 200 billion yuan ($27.35 billion) fund to help exporters in the country sell their products at the cost of next year. Exporters were at the Guangzhou Expo on Tuesday, China’s largest trade fair was held twice a year in the southern city of Guangzhou.
Some sources involved in the export business said they were skeptical about Rednote’s sales productivity, calling them pure marketing. A Chinese exporter refuses to name it for privacy reasons, and exporters tend to have various target markets and if the United States is not the option, they will move to other countries.
Reuters contacted 12 sellers but received no responses.
Analysts say live streaming is consistent with China’s response to external pressure, which is effective even if they are just marketing.
“In China, we need to unite, we need to resist bullying,” said Ashley Dudarenok, founder of digital consulting firm Chozan. He added that after the latest trade conflict in the world, “resistance,” “China can do it” and “China can make” and “save factories” have all emerged.
“Trump’s tariffs may actually help China raise consumer sentiment, which will provide people with a very strong reason why they should consume … because they are bigger than themselves right now,” she said.
