Afrasianet - Between the state's disciplined rhetoric and the ridicule of society, China's "digital street" received the news of the US president's visit Donald Trump to Beijing from May 13 to 15, 2026, as both an "important but ordinary event."
The first visit by a U.S. president in nine years is officially presented as a high-stakes diplomatic entitlement, while it is being turned on platforms such as Weibo And Duwen, Xiaohongshu, Jihu, WeChat, and Billy Belle into a material for jokes, tenderness, and pragmatic analysis.
Beijing describes the visit as a pivotal stop for managing the relationship between the world's two largest economies, while emphasizing the broad and deep cooperation between the two countries.
But a quick look at Chinese content on local social media platforms shows that Trump has become a "digital phenomenon" there, with derogatory nicknames such as "Comrade Trump" and "King" Customs duties".
Prayer for Sales Visit
One of the most widely circulated clips was the scene of "Prayer White HouseIn which Trump appeared surrounded by pastors who put their hands on his shoulders, as the owners of Chinese factories and stores re-enacted the scene, but they pray in their representation in order to increase sales and rewards, in an example of turning American politics into a daily item with a satirical economic dimension.
Reports from content monitoring website What's on Weibo indicate that, weeks before the visit, Chinese authorities allowed the publication of AI-generated clips mocking Trump in the context of the visit Iran War, in what the website describes as a "great success" for "Comrade Trump" on Chinese social media, with many hashtags associated with him.
As for the Doyen platform (Douyin), which is the local version of the platform "TikTok", videos of the arrival of US military transport planes of the C17 to Beijing, transporting Trump's armored "monster" car and heavy security equipment.
The videos have garnered hundreds of thousands of views under the hashtag "Trump will visit China," with material posted on the platform suggesting that seven C-17s alone transported more than 500 tons of equipment, exceeding the scale of preparations during the 2017 visit.
But the comments tended to be more skeptical than welcoming, with recurring questions such as "How much will the tariffs fall?" and phrases such as "Americans can't be trusted" and "they turn on their word as soon as they get on the plane."
A president with a narrow mind
As for the news that talked about the transfer of drinking water and personal supplies entirely from United States, and a wave of ridicule was unleashed in the comments section of the comments section of Duwine, with comments such as "What is this excessive caution?" , and "thinks of others with a narrow mindset similar to his own."
In the Xiao Hongshu platform (XiaohongshuShort news videos focused on highlighting the broad and deep cooperation between Beijing and Washington, and conjured up Chinese statements talking about using the high-level meeting to expand practical cooperation and manage differences, with comments from users praising the "strong motherland" and "Communist Party of China", and calls for win-win cooperation that brings peace and prosperity to the two peoples.
Jihu platform (Zhihu) in turn, presented analyses describing Trump as "a businessman who arrives in China with his book of accounts and difficult questions", noting that the timing of the visit gives it "strategic importance" in light of the complexities of the visit Taiwan and the economy and regional tensions.
These analyses point out that the presence of figures such as Tim Cook Elon Musk The accompanying delegation reflects a focus on practical cooperation, while the absence of some high-tech icons is read as an indication of continued competition in the sector.
On Bilibili, the most popular among young people, clips appeared describing the visit as a "political showdown," using headlines such as "U.S. media complains that China isn't giving it its face properly" to offer a counter-narrative that Beijing is not obligated to "set the scene" for a guest who "doesn't respect his obligations."
The comments included phrases describing Trump as a "political liar" and a "businessman who doesn't keep his word," along with a popular analogy that "hunting a rabbit on the eve of Spring Festival can celebrate the New Year with or without him," a sign that China, in the eyes of this current, is on its own path whether Trump comes or not.
Political Review
At the same time, platforms such as SoHo and easyNet are recording a shift in public interest. While the 2026 visit is being presented as the first visit by a U.S. president in nine years, analytical articles suggest that the list of the 20 most trending topics on these major platforms is almost devoid of any direct tag about the visit.
This "relative apathy" is interpreted in these articles as an expression of a shift in collective mindset after years of trade wars, technological blockades, and geopolitical tussles, as the impression that had enveloped the image of the United States in the Chinese public consciousness faded.
Topics were posted on the Soho platform with the following titles:
"Trump is treating China's visit as a political show, but local netizens are still not convinced"
"Trump is about to visit Beijing, and the US media is noticing that there is something wrong"
"From online uproar to oblivion"
On the easynet platform, a topic is titled: "Why are the Chinese people not showing any enthusiasm?"
In the midst of all this, the "voice of the state" who presents the visit as an opportunity to adjust the relationship between two superpowers remains clear, and the "voice of the platforms," which ranges from cynicism, coldness and pragmatism, and sees Trump as a "cartoon character" for satire and a "deal man" who may bring with him some economic détente.
