China censors some tariff related content on social media

HONG KONG - China began censoring some tariff-related content on social media on April 9 after US “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of countries took effect, including massive 104 per cent duties on Chinese goods, while posts criticising the US were top hits.

Hashtags and searches for “tariff” or “104“ were mostly blocked on social media platform Weibo, with pages showing an error message.

Other hashtags, particularly the US having an egg shortage, were among the most viewed on Weibo. State broadcaster CCTV started a hashtag “#UShastradewarandaneggshortage”.

The US is “waving the tariff stick in a high profile manner, imposing tariffs on EU steel and aluminium products... but also writing letters to European countries in a low voice, urgently asking for eggs”, CCTV said in a post on Weibo.

The censorship also extended to WeChat, where a wide range of posts from Chinese companies that highlighted the negative impact of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs were taken down by the platform, according to a Reuters review.

The censored posts were all marked by the same label stating that the “content was suspected of violating relevant laws, regulations, and policies”.

Beijing announced counter-tariffs on the US last week and has vowed to fight what it views as blackmail.

Internet censors have also allowed mocking US comments to proliferate on Chinese social media, depicting the United States as a globally irresponsible trading partner, as China prepares the stage for a wider trade fight with the world’s biggest economy.

China controls the internet through a system known as the “Great Firewall” and social media posts are routinely censored when deemed detrimental to national interests.

Foreign social media networks such as Instagram and X are blocked, a system that has created a captive market for domestic alternatives.

Beijing lawyer Pang Jiulin, who has more