How One YouTuber Defied The US-China Trade War

At a time when the 70-plus-year-old leaders of the United States and China were sparring in a spiralling trade war, one 20-something American influencer was turning their bitter rhetoric on its head.

Through live-streams, cumulatively spanning more than 50 hours, American YouTuber Darren Jason Watkins Jr, aka IShowSpeed, or even aka Speedy, enamoured his followers in China and the US with an “unfiltered” view of a country currently viewed by Washington as its single greatest rival. And his streams were beyond viral.

Speed managed to grab headlines in both countries, but specifically in China, where even state-managed news media couldn’t resist putting together video segments of his Chinese sojourn. And why wouldn’t they? Those streams displayed China’s best technological and infrastructural feats and featured – among other things – jumping electric vehicles, flying cars, dancing humanoid robots and 5G internet that can survive underground subway trains.

They also captured a level of cultural exchange that has, for long, been overlooked amidst the steadily worsening diplomacy between the two countries.

Speed, who started his influencer journey on YouTube — a platform that’s banned and blocked in China (at least for those who don’t use VPNs) — was seen being handed $1000 by a Chinese fan who rode up on a motorcycle to catch up with his entourage; being wildly hugged by another fan who went on to plant a kiss on his cheek; and being showered with gifts by a Chinese uncle who followed Speedy throughout his journey.

Within China, those exchanges were widely regarded as a true portrayal of the country’s diversity, unbesmirched by “Western propaganda”. Speed’s livestream was so highly regarded that one district handed out a 100,000 yuan reward to his fanboy Chinese uncle — henceforth known as ‘unc’ — for “promoting its food and culture on Speed’s stream.”

Speed’s journey wasn’t all easy going though and he encountered sporadic racism. Online, it triggered conversations around racism in Chinese society and dialogue around safety concerns for future travellers.

The key word being: dialogue.

Regardless of how you may view the entire affair, one thing remains undeniable: What Speed’s livestreams show foremost is a thirst among the people on the two ends of the world for genuine, unscripted cultural exchange.

That thirst presents many opportunities for the two countries, one of which is staring at a potential recession, and the other potential deflation. Speed’s videos were littered with comments from people who claimed they were from the West, and were now planning to travel to China because the country was nothing like what they previously assumed. If these are real, Speed’s livestream has to show the authoritarian Xi Jinping government the extraordinary tourism potential of allowing foreigners better access to the country.

Meanwhile, for the US it could be a reminder of the Chinese people’s steadfast interest and curiosity about the country and American culture. Just before the Covid-pandemic, for instance, Chinese tourists spent a whopping $15 billion in the US. That level of Chinese tourism has still not returned to the US, and was forecast to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2026.

That appears to be unachievable anymore, however, with the tariff wars of today.

China’s changing perception 🍿 

Speed’s viral livestreams come at an interesting time for China. With US President Donald Trump turning on friends and foes alike, China, for many, has become that guy that sits back and eats popcorn, while watching drama and chaos unfurl. Some around the world have even turned Trump’s call for ‘MAGA’ into “MACA” or “Make China Great Again”, referring to how the world’s second-largest economy is now being positively perceived, after previously being cast as the world’s greatest villain.

Amidst all that, a potential free-pass to influencers could become all the impetus that China needs. And it is becoming apparent that the Chinese leadership clearly sees that potential.

Take, for instance, how Chinese state-backed media openly embraced Speed’s livestreams. Outlets such as Global Times, China Daily and Xinhua were seen lauding those streams for being ‘unscripted’ when absolutely nothing high-level in the country is done without a script. Even China’s foreign ministry and the Chinese Embassy in the US were seen praising him.

Such open promotion of Speed’s streams is particularly surprising given this is a country that once couldn’t even stand letting artificial intelligence give unscripted responses.

Of course it’s not all fine and dandy. In one of Speed’s early streams, one fan reportedly shouted "Xi Jinping says hello to you”. That led the state to promptly ban broadcasts related to the stream within the country.

But still, Beijing’s overall response to Speed coupled with recent decisions to allow a global launch of DeepSeek and embrace its once ostracised tech giants, would suggest that its response to a weakening Chinese economy and growing US pressure is to loosen up… just a lil’ bit.

• After averting the risk of a 100% tariff on its chip sales to the US, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, TSMC, now faces the threat of a $1 billion penalty from Washington.

• Apple has chartered cargo flights to ferry 600 tons of iPhones – as many as 1.5 million – to the United States from India ‘to beat tariffs’.

• Video game enthusiasts in the US say Trump’s tariffs are having negative impacts on them – and they’re pretty angry about what he’s done.
  

• And the Chinese yuan and US Treasuries have been hit hard by the escalating trade war.