Trump, Taiwan & The Three-Body Problem: How Chinese Social Media Frames the Raid on Venezuela
How Chinese social media is making sense of the first geopolitical shockwaves of 2026
Dear Reader,
As the New Year took off, there were plenty of snow-and-fun-related trends on Chinese social media. But with so much going on in the world, online commenters have mainly been focusing on geopolitical developments and international news.
One of the first major international headlines to hit China’s trending lists in 2026 was the catastrophic bar fire in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Xi Jinping sent a message of condolence, while netizens discussed the fireworks inside the bar and how the disaster unfolded. No Chinese citizens were among the victims.
In the first week of 2026, Sino-Japanese tensions also continued, with more China–Japan flights canceled, Japanese business delegations blocked, and China announcing an export ban against Japan on certain goods and technologies with potential military (dual-use) applications.
That wasn’t the only reason Japan has been in the news, though. The relatively high number of syphilis cases surfacing in Japan also became a top trending topic in China (one hashtag had over 250 million views on Weibo), mainly because China’s biggest state media outlets highlighted the issue.
While the headlines themselves are factually true (reported cases increased from around 1,000 in 2013 to over 13,000 in 2025), online discussions quickly tied the issue to anti-Japanese sentiment, reinforcing narratives about Japan’s alleged “social decay.”
But it is the turmoil surrounding the US, Venezuela, and Trump’s remarks on Greenland that has dominated foreign-focused online discussions in recent days. So please read on, as I dive into the various angles and responses to these developments on Chinese social media.
(And I do hope to get to those snow-and-fun stories soon 🙃)
Quick Scroll
🏆 Mathematician Wang Hong (王虹, b. 1991) from Guangxi has become the first woman to win the top prize at China’s most prestigious math congress.
🎮 “Only Bilibili still treats me like a kid” went viral after the platform’s New Year livestream drew over 350 million viewers by strongly leaning into childhood nostalgia.
✈️ Turkey has gone visa-free: As of Jan 2, Chinese nationals can stay for up to 90 days. Among the social media feeds’ new travel content, Cappadocia hot-air balloons are most popular (not a kebab post in sight).
🍔 Oh, the power of fandom: Burger King’s launch of a limited New Year gift box with popular actor Tian Xuning drew so much attention it led to a nationwide crash of their app on Jan 4.
🚗 Xiaomi’s CEO spent hours taking his own car apart on camera. To debunk viral rumors, Lei Jun hosted a live “teardown” of the new YU7 SUV to show exactly how it’s built. With 410,000 cars delivered in 2025, Xiaomi is now targeting 550,000 for 2026.
📱 South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s China visit went viral. Not for talks on the “new phase” of South Korean relations with China, but for the trending selfie he took with President Xi using a Chinese Xiaomi phone.
🧸Also visiting Beijing at the same time, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong sparked online discussions for buying 100 Labubu’s on his shopping spree (who said the hype was over!?).
Featured Story
Trump’s Turmoil: Maduro in US Custody and the Greenland Question
2026 hasn’t exactly seen a peaceful start. In a shocking turn of geopolitical events, Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro was captured by the US on Saturday. Facing narco-terrorism charges, he was flown to New York, where he is still being held in custody alongside his wife, Cilia Flores. President Trump announced that the United States would be taking control in Venezuela, stating they are going to “get the oil flowing.”
Maduro has pleaded not guilty to the charges during an initial hearing in federal court. Meanwhile, Maduro ally Delcy Rodríguez was formally sworn in as Venezuela’s interim president, while up to 50 million barrels of oil resources are set to go to the US.
Further shaking up geopolitical tensions were Donald Trump’s comments suggesting an American takeover of Greenland, arguing that the US needs to control Greenland to ensure the security of the NATO territory in the face of rising threats from China and Russia in the Arctic.
On Chinese social media, these developments have been dominating trending lists, with “Greenland” (格陵兰岛), “military force” (武力), “Trump” (特朗普), “Venezuela” (委内瑞拉), and “Maduro” (马杜罗) among the hottest keywords across various platforms from January 6 to today.
So what is the main gist of these discussions? From official reactions to dominant interpretive frames used by Chinese commentators and bloggers, there are various angles that are highlighted the most. I’ll explore them here.
