Trump has many nicknames in China, and the most resounding one is “Chuan Jianguo”, a name with very revolutionary characteristics, meaning building China. Chinese people believe that Trump’s stupidity has accelerated the decline of the United States. China does not need to rush to catch up with the United States, as it will stop moving forward on its own, or even go backward. In the eyes of Chinese people, Trump is also a person who likes to tell the truth. He makes no secret of his desire to blackmail allies, openly wants to annex Canada and Greenland, humiliates European leaders, expresses disgust for Zelensky, and does not hide his envy that Putin, Xi Jinping, and Kim Jong-un can remain in power indefinitely. His various comical moments, along with his strong affinity, make him far more popular in China than traditional politicians like Biden.
Precisely because of this, he has gained another nickname: “Chuan Bao”, meaning “Trump the Baby”. This eighty-year-old boy is willful, impulsive, rebellious, and disregards all rules. The only thing that remains constant about him is his pursuit of money and beauty. After being elected president, his family frantically issued coins to make money. And in his administration team, there are quite a few blonde, blue-eyed beauties. To be honest, Trump is probably the US president who gets scolded the least in China. Although he is very hostile toward China, most people generally think he is a fool and poses no real threat to China.
China has many honorary white people who frantically cheer and shout support on the internet for Trump’s anti-immigration actions.
In addition, because Trump firmly says no to woke culture represented by LGBTQ, it has also won the hearts of conservative Chinese people. In fact, Chinese society is the most tolerant, with basically no racial discrimination, and it respects any personal choices. Or rather, few people in China pay attention to others’ affairs, as everyone focuses on living their own lives well. Therefore, Chengdu in China often becomes a representative city for rainbow culture, and cities like Guangzhou have become gathering places for African and Indian descendants, with large community scales that have caused strong dissatisfaction among many conservative Chinese people. These people are Trump’s die-hard fans, with a loud voice on the internet. However, in real life, their presence is almost zero. As mentioned earlier, Chinese people face great life pressure, and most simply do not care about these matters.
Those social elites who truly pay more attention to politics have mostly escaped the panic from the early stages of the China-US trade war and technology war. After the real intense confrontations, Chinese people also understood that although China itself has many problems and great pressure, the United States has more problems and is far less powerful than imagined. Even the speed and extent of US compromises far exceeded Chinese expectations. During Biden’s term, many in Chinese society still fantasized that China-US relations could be repaired and reconnected. But in Trump’s second term, it took less than a year to make Chinese people see through the true strength of the United States. Now, most Chinese people believe that the United States cannot defeat China. Quite a few think that defeating the United States is a high-probability event. As long as China does not create internal chaos itself, we can just sit and wait for Trump to collapse the United States.
Russian President Putin has many nicknames in China, and the most resounding is Putin the Great Emperor. Everyone feels he is the tsar of the new era Russia, a strongman figure. Chinese attitudes toward Russia are complex. On one hand, a strong Russia helps China contain the West. The outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war has reduced much pressure on China from Western countries and provided valuable development opportunities. In the Soviet era, the two countries had deep friendship, but later went their separate ways. On the other hand, Chinese people still hold grudges over Russia’s historical seizure of large Chinese territories, especially Vladivostok and Sakhalin Island, and the splitting of Outer Mongolia. During the Sino-Soviet split, the Soviet Union’s attempt to launch a nuclear strike on China remains fresh in Chinese memory.
But after all, the current reality is that Russia and the West are in direct conflict and confrontation, making it China’s natural ally. Chinese people enjoy seeing Putin tough externally, especially since European countries often morally judge China, which annoys Chinese people greatly. Putin’s expansion in Europe has support from quite a few in China. But this is also one of the most controversial topics in China, and I myself am very conflicted. Because human conscience makes me think that Ukraine’s resistance to aggression is just. Yet Ukrainian diplomats visiting Yasukuni Shrine in Japan and Zelensky frequently slandering China for supporting Russia in combat also annoy me greatly. Much of this country’s suffering is caused by these idiots. Zelensky may not realize that if China militarily supported Russia, Ukraine would face millions of drones in the sky and extreme saturation fire strikes on the ground. From my personal perspective, as a Chinese person, I hold a conservative neutral attitude toward Putin. But if I were Russian, Putin would count as a national hero. After all, Crimea is under control, something no amount of money could buy back. Overall, Putin is also seen in China as a tough guy, and whether people like or dislike him, they basically acknowledge his abilities.
In contrast, the prime minister of the world’s third strongest power, the Bharat Empire, Modi, does not have many nicknames in China, but his reputation is huge. He is called “Modi Lao Xian” by Chinese netizens, meaning Modi the Immortal or The Godman Modi. I remember making a video before explaining this joke. Many Indians think it is because Chinese people worship Modi and gave him such a resounding nickname. In fact, it comes from the character Ding Chunqiu in Jin Yong’s famous work “Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils”. He calls himself “Xing Xiu Lao Xian”, flaunts his power everywhere, and commits evil deeds. This person is indeed much stronger than ordinary people, but in front of true experts, he is no match and ends up publicly defeated by Xu Zhu at Shaolin Temple and imprisoned. Chinese people give Modi this nickname, calling him “Lao Xian”, meaning he is someone without real strength who loves to boast.
Modi and Indian politicians and media like to talk big, boast, and propagate that India is a superpower on various occasions. Yet the fact is that in the eyes of major global powers like the United States, China, Russia, and the European Union, India is just a beggar. Everyone is willing to give Modi and India vanity because they have their own interest calculations. But once India’s interests conflict with these powers, it gets humiliated immediately. For example, Trump’s repeated humiliations of India: claiming India had 5 fighter jets shot down by Pakistan, imposing 50% tariffs on India, tightening H1B visas, forcing India to open its agricultural market, and so on. Another example is China’s embargo on rare earths, raw materials, and industrial machinery to India. Under pressure, Modi went to Tianjin to kiss Xi Jinping’s ass and obtained temporary forgiveness.
Honestly, very few people on China’s internet care about India, and most who follow Indian topics do so with an entertainment mindset, treating India as a joke to pass time and relieve stress. Modi’s various clown performances further intensify this phenomenon. Palki Sharma has also gained some popularity on China’s internet for releasing fake news about China and spreading rumors to smear it. Everyone calls her “Jia Kang Jie”, meaning a woman with excessive male hormone secretion. She and Modi are like India’s twin stars, with online heat rivaling Aamir Khan.
This video explains Chinese views on the United States, Russia, and India from an entertainment perspective, using leaders as the entry point. It is quite subjective and does not represent authoritative opinion. Everyone is welcome to share your views; see you in the comments section!