China has a strategy to counter Trump’s
tariffs,
but will it be enough to beat the US?
Welcome to China Uncensored. I’m Chris Chappell.
YouTube has been trying to suppress China
Uncensored
and promote pro-CCP content.
But we’re fighting back—and winning.
Join me in Operation Honey Pot Phase 3,
leave a honey pot comment to show
YouTube we’ve got engagement,
and subscribe to our free newsletter to
subvert YouTube censorship.
The link is below.
And now, on with the show!
The Chinese Communist Party is being backed into
a corner by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs,
even if they’re only 145 percent ,
not
400 percent as Mr. Wonderful would like,
or 1776 percent as some people on
the internet are clamoring for.
But China is fighting back—the only
way they know how!
With stubbornness and skullduggery.
Skullduggery is not a word
that gets used enough in modern parlance.
Of course, there are the retaliatory tariffs…
And cutting off the US from critical exports.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Here are four more crazy slash
utterly predictable ways China
is fighting back against Trump’s tariffs.
Number 1: diplomacy warfare.
This week, Chinese leader Xi
Jinping is visiting Southeast Asia.
You mean the CCP is actually entering another
country’s territory with consent for a change?
There’s a reason why he chose that
as his first overseas trip in 2025.
Tons of Chinese investors and
manufacturers have moved there.
And China has relied on them as shipping
stopover points
to get goods around US tariffs and sanctions.
What? This ship
totally came from Vietnam, not China!
Trump knows this, which is why he initially
threatened high tariffs on Southeast Asia.
Vietnam’s responding to this by eyeing
crackdowns on some Chinese trade.
That’s something China wants
to stop from happening,
which is why Xi made Vietnam his first stop.
While there, Xi signed a
bunch of economic agreements.
And called for China and Vietnam to deepen
building a community with a shared future,
And they might have a shared future.
This is incredibly risky for Vietnam.
Trump paused tariffs on Vietnam for
90 days.
If after that time is up,
Trump feels Vietnam is capitulating to China,
those tariffs could go back in full force.
That should also be the concern for
Xi’s next stop—
Malaysia and Cambodia.
Malaysia is especially important.
It’s this year’s ASEAN chair.
And it’s set to host the first ever Asean-Gulf
Cooperation Council Summit,
with China invited.
Ooh, never invite the CCP.
They’re
like vampires.
Once you let them in, they’ll suck you dry.
And it’s likely they’ll
claim your home was always a part of China.
While these tours are happening,
Chinese
state run media is churning out propaganda
Accusing the US of unilateral bullying.
While China is as “A reliable partner.”
Well, they certainly are reliable,
if by that you mean predictable.
Yup, you can always rely on China
to be utterly,
utterly predictable.
China’s eyes aren’t just on Southeast Asia.
It’s also trying to woo
Europeans with similar messages,
Like that China and the EU should
jointly resist “unilateral bullying”...
And work together to safeguard
global trade rules and justice.
In other words, the global trade
system the CCP has weaponized.
Unfortunately, some in Europe are
biting.
Which once again proves that
just because someone has a European
accent
doesn’t mean they’re smart.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is one
of them.
He met with Xi Jinping in Beijing…
And is pushing the EU closer to China.
And it’s not just Spain.
The French foreign minister is also
batting
for a “Franco-Chinese partnership”…
And China and Ireland are seeking stronger ties.
Which makes sense if you
think about it.
After all, just look at all that China
has to offer the western world!
Yeah, that’s kind of a problem.
Which is why the CCP has unleashed an army
of China-simp influencers upon the internet.
That brings me to the next strategy
Number 2: Psychological Warfare
To bolster Xi’s chances of
success in Southeast Asia,
Pro-CCP influencers have been promoting
how much Southeast Asians love China,
Touting how Chinese brands
are everywhere in Malaysia…
And how people from Malaysia, Vietnam,
and
Laos just love Chinese movies and TV shows.
Yes, everyone loves China.
Especially the Philippines.
Look at those skyscrapers.
And high speed trains.
But the message that’s also being pushed
is that China is more powerful than the US,
that tariffs against it are
pointless and only hurt the US.
The conclusion: China is
unstoppable.
It already won.
China remains robust despite trade restrictions.
Meanwhile, Americans are needlessly
suffering a war they already lost.
“In this tariff war, the only people
losing is American people.”
, “When it comes to the USA,
we have never had the upper hand over China.
“And just when Trump thought he was going to flex up
on China with his tariffs and trade war,
they
bitch-slapped us right back with transparency.”
“The actual machinery to manufacture
at the
quality that we need primarily exists in China.”
“So you can probably see why a fifty percent
or even a two or three hundred percent tariff
would still not make me or almost any other
business move to American manufacturing
for these sort of products.
Because it
still doesn’t make sense financially.”
So what are you waiting for?
Come to China!
Where you can get cheap Chinese crap…
…and hopefully not find yourself being kidnapped
for hostage diplomacy!
It’s
slightly cheaper, so it’s worth it!
But when warping the minds of your
enemy isn’t enough,
the CCP resorts to..
Number 3: Outright Deceit
Chinese companies are using outright
lies
and deception to get around tariffs.
Like I mentioned earlier,
Trump is
cracking down on the way China uses third-party countries
to escape
tariffs and sanctions.
He’s also cracking down on other loopholes like
the de minimis exception for China,
which allowed shipments of cheap
Chinese crap to come in duty-free.
But Nikkei Asia reports that China’s logistics
sector
is challenging Trump’s tariff enforcers…
by helping merchants sidestep duties.
They’re offering what’s known as “double
clearance and tax inclusive services”.
Here’s how it works.
Say you’re selling some Chinese honey.
A Chinese logistical provider will offer to handle
both export clearance in China
and import clearance in the US.
This includes goods declarations
and paying
import duties, as well as other fees.
That Chinese logistical provider will do what’s
called double invoicing.
The logistical provider shows one invoice to US customs authorities
that
undervalues the value of the honey, which leads to reduced duties
. Meanwhile, the buyers and sellers
of that honey
use a second invoice that reflects the true transaction value
. They categorize that
invoice under a service not subject to tariffs…
…such as marketing.
Logistics providers are also outright
lying
in their invoices and falsifying customs
entry summaries to reduce tariffs owed.
So even with tariffs as high as 145 percent,
or 1776 percent,
Chinese manufacturers would only
need to pay a little more in duties.
Meanwhile, “the logistics companies profit
by pocketing the difference
between what they charge the manufacturers to cover
customs
and what they actually pay.”
And if you’re wondering why China is going
to such complex,
convoluted lengths to avoid these tariffs instead of
simply not
being as awful anymore… great question!
So that takes care of China’s international image
and sidestepping the tariffs,
but what about those people at home who don’t much
care for the way the CCP is handling
the situation? .
Those people do exist
Because the Chinese people aren’t
a homogenous blob that believes
everything they’re told to believe
by the CCP
. That’s the pro-CCP NPCs.
Which is why the last strategy is:
Number four: censorship!
Former deputy director of the Chinese Academy of
Social Sciences’ Public Policy Research Center
He Bin criticized China’s tariffs on Chinese social
media,
saying they were “completely misguided”.
But he didn’t stop there.
He also said, “It’s like saying, ‘If you
dare hit your wife,
I’ll hit my wife.’”
Of course, China’s no stranger to being an
abusive spouse even to its own people.
So that analogy doesn’t really work because China
sees it and thinks, “
Challenge accepted!”
He Bin also said, “The US raising tariffs
is like lifting a rock only to drop it on its own feet
. We shouldn’t be
doing the same to ourselves.”
China not doing something
stupid and self-destructive challenge
? Difficulty: impossible.
To no one’s surprise, the Public Policy
Research Center was officially scrapped.
I don’t know if I want to know what’s going
to happen to He Bin.
He’ll
probably wind up in a bin.
Meanwhile, China’s censoring
tariff-related posts on social media.
They’ve been censoring hashtags and searches
for
words like “tariff” and “104” back when Trump’s
tariffs on Chinese goods were 104 percent.
Meanwhile, Chinese state-run media is
pushing out local propaganda about
how much tariffs are hurting the US,
With state-media initiated hashtags like, “
America
is fighting a trade war while begging for eggs”
And “China does not provoke
trouble but is never afraid of it”
China doesn’t provoke trouble?
You know what
clip I’m about to show again, don’t ya?
This has to be a record.
Chinese media keeps insisting, both in print
and on social media,
that China is strong, strong strong.
Meanwhile, anything showing the
negative impacts of Trump’s tariffs on China
is absolutely taboo on Chinese social media,
because
then that would show that the CCP has weaknesses.
And weakness is not something
the CCP wants to ever show.
They want to show strength everywhere they go,
Whether they’re invited or not.
Yup, officially
broke the record showing these clips.
On that note, here’s something that’ll
make the CCP weak to its knees!
Operation Honey Pot Phase 3.
We have a brand new, free newsletter that we’re using
to notify
you of new episodes
because you’ve told us
YouTube won’t notify you,
even if you’re
subscribed and have notifications on.
There are also a lot of fun
behind-the-scenes glimpses.
You can sign up at https://chinauncensored.substack.com
And please, keep those honey pot emojis coming.
I love seeing those, and I do read your comments,
even if I don’t have time to respond to everyone.
It has meant a lot to me in these tough times.
Once again, I’m Chris Chappell. See you next time.