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Jane Cai

Phoebe Zhang

Chinese social media users reacted with mockery, scepticism and concern after US President Donald Trump accused Beijing of meddling in US elections in a prime-time address.
In his speech on Thursday evening Washington time, Trump focused heavily on US election security and made explosive claims about China, accusing Beijing of orchestrating the “largest compromise of election data in history” and declaring an end to complacency in the face of “Chinese interference”.
He alleged that China had accessed around 220 million American voter files and assigned a dedicated data exploitation unit to the effort, with activities dating back to at least the 2018 midterm elections and continuing into the 2020 presidential race.
Trump has maintained since late 2020 that widespread voter fraud cost him the election that year against Joe Biden.
He and his allies have repeatedly alleged irregularities involving mail-in ballots, voting machines and foreign interference, despite numerous court rulings, audits and reviews by officials in his own administration that found no evidence of fraud significant enough to change the outcome.
Again, China is the scapegoat? Trump needs an enemy to rally his base before the midterms
Chinese social media user
Chinese-speaking posters on X, formerly known as Twitter, had little reaction to this new information other than mocking the claims or questioning their credibility.
One asked how China was able to interfere or control elections held in the US, while another wrote: “Is it because of China’s interference that Trump got elected?”
“Great, this is China’s fault again,” said another commenter whose location appeared to be Beijing.
China’s state media did not cover the speech. However, discussions bubbled up on Chinese social media platform Weibo under a Thursday post from Russian outlet Sputnik News, which reported that Trump would accuse China of meddling in US elections in his address.


In the nearly 100 comments on the post, social media users reacted with a combination of defensiveness and concern.
“Again, China is the scapegoat? Trump needs an enemy to rally his base before the midterms. Our media doesn’t even bother reporting this nonsense – smart move,” one person wrote.
“How exactly did China ‘control’ the US election? With 220 million voter files? If we had that power, would our economy still face tariffs and tech restrictions? Sounds like their internal chaos being blamed on us,” another commented.
“Where’s the evidence? US intelligence has contradicted itself before. But if this escalates, what does it mean for the hard-won stability after the leaders’ meeting? All that banquet diplomacy for nothing?” said yet another user.
Trump’s accusations stand in stark contrast to the friendly, conciliatory tone of his state visit to Beijing in May, and his comments are expected to cast uncertainty over plans for a reciprocal visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping in September.
Another commenter wrote: “Hi Trump, we are more fond of you than Biden. How come we chose him rather than you? The logic is as twisted as your voting machines.”


Trump is called Chuan Jianguo by some Chinese internet users – a moniker that literally translates to “Trump Building the [Chinese] Nation”. The sarcastic nickname, often prefaced with “comrade”, gained popularity after the start of the trade war between the two countries in 2018, during Trump’s first term as president.
Some Chinese social media users and even academics have suggested that Trump’s trade war pushed China towards deeper economic reforms that would eventually benefit the country.
“Let them fight internally; we focus on development,” one poster wrote.
Another said: “We must stay steady and push self-reliance.”


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US leader’s explosive accusations against Beijing prompt mockery, concern and calls for self-reliance from online commenters


US leader’s explosive accusations against Beijing prompt mockery, concern and calls for self-reliance from online commenters.


‘Let them fight’: Chinese social media reacts to Trump’s election interference claims

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}US leader’s explosive accusations against Beijing prompt mockery, concern and calls for self-reliance from online commenters

US leader’s explosive accusations against Beijing prompt mockery, concern and calls for self-reliance from online commenters