Twitter is ..., Elon Musk responds to China and US meme-war on X

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has responded to the ongoing China and US-meme war on microblogging platform Twitter. Quoting a post by X user DogeDesigner @cb_doge sharing one such meme, Musk wrote “X is the global town square, the group chat of Earth”. As trade tensions with the two countries escalate, AI-generated videos and memes are going viral.

Specifically, these memes target President Donald Trump and his advisers, including Elon Musk and JD Vance. One such viral meme video mocks the idea of American workers returning to garment factories, sparking debate about tariffs and the US manufacturing. The one shared by DogeDesigner is a political cartoon from the Chinese Embassy in the US, depicting the US as a bully forcing China to accept a lollipop while threatening with a spiked bat, symbolizing coercive diplomacy amid escalating US-China trade tensions.
Here are some popular memes circulating online










Over the past week, tariffs imposed by the US on Chinese imports have increased from 54% to 104% and then to 125%, in addition to existing duties from before President Trump’s second term. In response, China has raised tariffs on US imports from 84% to 125%, effective April 12, 2025.
Recently, Donald Trump announced a two-tier tariff structure: a baseline 10% tariff applied universally to imports from all countries, with exceptions for Canada and Mexico, and additional country-specific "reciprocal" tariffs based on what the administration deemed unfair trade practices by approximately 60 individual nations. The 10% baseline tariff began on April 5, 2025, while the higher country-specific rates commenced on April 9, 2025.