China taunts Trump: Factories flood TikTookay with movies urging shoppers to purchase direct to keep away from tariffs – as Donald says Beijing is making an attempt to ‘screw the US’

Chinese factories are mocking President Donald Trump‘s sweeping tariffs by urging Americans on social media to buy from them directly at knockdown prices.

In several viral videos uploaded to TikTok, Chinese creators have claimed that popular fashion labels such as Lululemon and Louis Vuitton are producing their garments in China for a fraction of their retail price.

In one clip, which has garnered almost 10million views, a creator claimed they could sell yoga pants from the same manufacturer that supplies Lululemon for as little as £4.55 instead of the £76 the company sells for in the US.

Shoppers, however, are cautioned against buying from Chinese vendors, who are likely producing counterfeit ‘dupes’. A Lululemon spokesperson told Bloomberg that ‘authentic products’ can only be purchased at its stores, official websites and from authorized partners.

China has retaliated against Trump’s tariffs by halting shipments of seven rare earth metals that are critical to the US defense, energy, tech and automotive industries.

Shipments stopped on April 4 when Beijing restricted the export of rare earths and related material exclusively produced in China, raising the risk of shortages overseas.

China produces some 90 per cent of the world’s rare earths and experts warn the export restrictions demonstrate how Beijing can weaponize that control to all but sever supply of the vital elements to users around the world. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping today urged Vietnam to join forces in upholding free trade, in a move that Trump says was aiming to ‘screw’ the United States.

Xi issued a warning Monday that a trade war would have ‘no winners’ and ‘leads nowhere’. He then called on his country and Vietnam to ‘oppose unilateral bullying and uphold the stability of the global free trade system’. Hours later, Trump told reporters at the White House that the talks were aimed at hurting the US.

Many of the popular videos were uploaded to TikTok in March but have gained traction in recent days.

Experts warn the social media campaigns appear to be a ‘calculated attempt to undermine President Trump’s tariff policy on China’.

A video titled ‘China exposed the truth’ had received more than 8million views and almost 500,000 likes as on Monday. A similar clip – titled ‘How we bypass tariffs’ – also received 1million views and more than 118,000 likes.

One TikTok even urged US consumers to fight back, with one user stating: ‘Americans, you don’t need a tariff, you need a revolution.

‘For decades your government and oligarchs ship your jobs to China, not for diplomacy, not for peace, but to exploit cheap labor and in the process, they hollow out your middle class, crash your working class and told you to be proud while they sold your future for profit.’ 

Alex Goldenberg, senior advisor at the Network Contagion Research Institute at Rutgers University, told Bloomberg that factories are ‘leveraging TikTok to promote Chinese manufacturing as cheaper, more desirable, and accessible – even in defiance of trade restrictions.’

‘These posts are much more confrontational and mocking of the US, rather than showing it as a threat,’ echoed Tom Harper, a lecturer in Chinese international relations at the University of East London.

It is unclear how ordering directly from China would allow consumers to avoid paying tariffs, especially since the waiver that exempts small parcels being shipped directly to American homes from duties is being removed on May 2.

Shipments of seven rare earths from China have also ground to halt, raising the risk of shortages as Chinese exporters begin the long, uncertain wait for government licenses.

Exporters must now apply to the Ministry of Commerce for licenses, a relatively opaque process that can range from six or seven weeks to several months.

The freeze applies to all countries, but experts warn it could be especially difficult for the US because its tech, electric vehicle, aircraft and defense sectors are heavily reliant are elements like dysprosium and yttrium.

If the freeze lasts longer than two months, then the typical stockpiles built up by customers could deplete, traders have warned, noting that China has ‘essentially created an all-powerful monopoly’ with rare earths.

‘The Chinese have been threatening this because they do have that leverage to basically cut us off and cut the world off, which essentially cuts us off through all sorts of different means,’ Drew Horn, who helped lead minerals policy in the first Trump administration, told The New York Post.

However, the export controls are also likely to chip away at China’s dominance because they will force overseas buyers to accelerate their diversification away from China, even if that process is likely to be lengthy. 

‘When asked by my clients when their cargoes will be able to leave China, we give them an estimated time of 60 days but it may actually take longer than that,’ said a China rare earth trader, who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity given the topic’s sensitivity.

The insider added it could be especially difficult for US clients to get export licenses given the escalating trade war between the superpowers.

Several Chinese rare earth sellers have already declared force majeure on their contracts with overseas buyers, according to two analysts. 

Cargoes already at port waiting for shipment have been barred from leaving if they have not cleared customs, they added. It is unclear how many cargoes scheduled for shipment have been affected.

Meanwhile, President Xi kicked off a diplomatic tour of Southeast Asia on Monday, presenting China as a force for stability in contrast with Trump’s latest moves on tariffs.

‘There are no winners in a trade war, or a tariff war,’ Xi wrote in an editorial jointly published in Vietnamese and Chinese official media. 

‘Our two countries should resolutely safeguard the multilateral trading system, stable global industrial and supply chains, and open and cooperative international environment.’ 

He also reiterated Beijing’s line that a ‘trade war and tariff war will produce no winner, and protectionism will lead nowhere‘, the agency added.

Beijing is trying to present itself as a stable alternative to an erratic Trump, who announced – and then mostly reversed – sweeping tariffs this month that sent global markets into a tailspin.

But Trump criticized the move on Monday, telling White House reporters: ‘I don’t blame China. I don’t blame Vietnam. I don’t. I see they’re meeting today, and that’s wonderful.

‘That’s a lovely meeting… like trying to figure out, how do we screw the United States of America.’

Vietnam was Southeast Asia’s biggest buyer of Chinese goods, with a bill of $161.9billion, followed by Malaysia, which imported $101.5billion worth in 2024.

Xi’s first overseas trip of the year will see him visit Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia as Beijing seeks to tighten regional trade ties and offset the impact of huge tariffs unleashed by Trump.

Vietnam has long pursued a ‘bamboo diplomacy’ approach, striving to stay on good terms with both China and the US.

The two countries have close economic ties, but Hanoi shares US concerns about Beijing’s increasing assertiveness in the contested South China Sea.

China claims almost all of the South China Sea as its own, but this is disputed by the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Brunei.

The Chinese leader in his Monday article insisted Beijing and Hanoi could resolve those disputes through dialogue.

‘We should properly manage differences and safeguard peace and stability in our region,’ Xi wrote, according to Xinhua. ‘With vision, we are fully capable of properly settling maritime issues through consultation and negotiation.’

China and Vietnam signed 45 cooperation agreements on Monday, including on supply chains, artificial intelligence, joint maritime patrols and railway development.

Xi said at a meeting with Vietnam’s top leader To Lam on Monday that their countries were ‘standing at the turning point of history… and should move forward with joined hands’.

Lam said after the talks that the two leaders ‘reached many important and comprehensive common perceptions’, according to Vietnam News Agency.