How viral AI videos turn racialized outsiders into threats and violent Chinese heroes into defenders of social order, China’s first nationally broadcast AI drama, and why a newspaper is being sold for 50 times its original price.
The post How Chinese AI Videos Turned Foreigners into Villains appeared first on Eye on Digital China.
How viral AI videos turn racialized outsiders into threats and violent Chinese heroes into defenders of social order, China’s first nationally broadcast AI drama, and why a newspaper is being sold for 50 times its original price.
Published
2 weeks ago
on
August 3, 2026

Welcome to China Trend Watch (Week 30–33 | 2026), where I bring you the latest trends, memes, and debates driving conversation across Chinese social media. Subscribe here to receive future editions.
Over the past few weeks, a noteworthy amount of AI-related news has been trending on Chinese social media, which is reflected in this week’s edition.
Now that AI has entered every corner of media consumption and online life, related discussions seem…
Manya Koetse is a sinologist, writer, and public speaker specializing in China’s social trends, digital culture, and online media ecosystems. She founded What’s on Weibo in 2013 and now runs the Eye on Digital China newsletter. Learn more at manyakoetse.com or follow her on X, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

Published
4 days ago
on
August 12, 2026
Welcome to China Trend Watch (Week 32–33 | 2026), where I bring you the latest trends, memes, and debates driving conversation across Chinese social media. I’m Manya Koetse, a sinologist specializing in Chinese digital culture.
📈 Is China’s AI price war over?After a period of offering as much as possible to users at relatively low prices, Chinese AI (LLM) companies are now raising their prices. Last week,…
From digital stress to “dangerous Japan,” here are the trends that stood out this week on Chinese social media.
Published
6 months ago
on
February 12, 2026
🔥 China Trend Watch (week 6/7 | 2026) Part of Eye on Digital China by Manya Koetse, China Trend Watch is an overview of what’s trending and being discussed on Chinese social media. The previous newsletter was a chapter dive into the Becoming Chinese and Kill Line phenomena. This edition was sent to paid subscribers — subscribe to receive the next issue in your inbox.
In the first weeks of 2026, our…
| # | Наименование новости | Тональность | Информативность | Дата публикации |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China’s AI giants are handing out cash to lure in users | 0 | 5 | 09-03-2026 |
| 2 | Silicon Valley Is Completely Divided Over Chinese AI | 0 | 7.51 | 24-07-2026 |
| 3 | We Need to Talk About AI: China’s Therapists Lose Patients to Tech | 0 | 6.9 | 01-07-2026 |
| 4 | AI super-apps are remaking China’s internet | 5 | 7 | 17-05-2026 |
| 5 | China wants to end AI romances | 0 | 10 | 16-07-2026 |
| 6 | “Even Pigs Have AC”: The European Heatwave Through Chinese Eyes | 0 | 7.86 | 05-07-2026 |
| 7 | China’s CITIC Tower Crash: The Story That Never Trended | 0 | 9.02 | 02-07-2026 |
| 8 | Chinese A.I. Models Gain Ground on Anthropic and OpenAI | 2 | 6 | 25-06-2026 |
| 9 | Chinese Propaganda Outlets Jump Into Crusade Against Data Centers as Beijing Races To Achieve AI Supremacy | 0 | 6.22 | 28-04-2026 |
| 10 | China to bring AI into every classroom | 0 | 5 | 30-06-2026 |