China Censors Social Media Amid Escalating Trade War With US, Blocks Hashtags 'Tariff, 104'

As the trade conflict between the United States and China escalates, Beijing has reportedly begun censoring tariff-related content on social media, according to Reuters.

Searches and hashtags such as "tariff" and "104" (referring to the percentage tariff rate) have been blocked on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, with users encountering an error message.

Photo Credit: AP/PTI

The New York Times also reported that searches for these terms displayed the message: "Sorry, the content of this topic is not displayed."

This censorship has extended to WeChat as well. A Reuters review found that numerous posts by Chinese companies, which discussed the negative impact of President Trump's tariffs, had been removed. These posts were replaced with a standard message indicating the "content was suspected of violating relevant laws, regulations, and policies".

Conversely, hashtags mocking the United States - including those suggesting the country is facing an egg shortage - were among the most viewed on Weibo, according to the Reuters report.

China's state broadcaster CCTV further amplified such narratives by launching a hashtag in the same vein: "#UShastradewarandaneggshortage".

US-China Trade War

Since assuming office in January, US President Donald Trump has increased tariffs on Chinese imports five times.

The initial two tariff hikes of 10% each were met with what analysts described as a restrained response from Beijing, suggesting it was still open to negotiations. However, after Trump imposed an additional 34% tariff on Chinese goods last week - part of what he called "Liberation Day" tariffs that also impacted other nations - China retaliated with its own 34% tariff on American imports.

Trump responded by slapping a further 50% duty on Chinese goods, declaring that talks had been terminated. This brought the total US tariff rate on Chinese goods to 104%.

China again retaliated by raising tariffs on US products to a cumulative rate of 84%.

Although President Trump subsequently announced a 90-day suspension of tariff increases for other trade partners, he raised the duty on Chinese goods further - to 125%.

Amid these ongoing tensions, the Chinese government has issued a warning to its citizens, advising them to "assess the risks" before travelling to the United States.