Unless you’ve been under a rock, you know that the Trump administration has announced (and in some cases later paused) tariffs on America’s biggest trading partners. Our analysis suggests that, in doing so, the White House could be creating opportunities for China.
At least, that may be what people actually in China are thinking. Using Talisman, our data analysis platform, FilterLabs has been measuring Chinese online sentiment around the U.S.’s other major trading partners: South Korea, Japan, Germany, Canada, and Mexico.
China’s trade and diplomatic relations with all of these countries are far from iron clad. However, one thing jumped out from our China data: whenever Trump announced new tariffs (shown on the above chart as T1A and T2A), or when tariffs went into effect (T1E and T2E), sentiment towards these countries generally moved, at least temporarily, in positive directions.
Here are a few highlights from our analysis of sentiment in China’s online information environment:
- South Korea: Not great, but improving. Sino-Korean relations have been tumultuous recently, which Talisman clearly highlights, given that the Korea line had the lowest average sentiment values of the group. Nonetheless, industry ministers from China and South Korea met in late March to discuss evolving markets and how to advance mutual objectives, signaling the possibility of greater economic integration. On March 31st, China Central Television (CCTV) announced that South Korea, Japan, and China had agreed to respond to U.S. tariffs in a unified manner. (For the record, South Korea’s trade minister claimed the report was an exaggeration.)
- Japan: Expanding footholds. As was the case with South Korea, Chinese media covered Japanese involvement in the trilateral trade meetings positively. As U.S. tariffs came into effect in early April, the Chinese media was covering Chinese businesses successfully expanding their footholds in Japan.
- Germany: Economic partners. Recent Chinese sentiment around Germany has focused on stories about opportunities for the two countries to pursue mutually beneficial economic policies. When Trump’s universal 10% tariff went into effect, Chinese media covered reports that Germany might withdraw 1,200 tons of gold from the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank.
- Canada: Still (mostly) rocky. The Canadian and Chinese governments have been clashing over trade. In October 2024 Canada imposed 100% tariffs on Chinese electric cars and 25% tariffs on Chinese steel. China responded with heavy tariffs on Canadian agriculture in March 2025. However, most recently Chinese media has focused on Canada standing up against U.S. tariffs and Trump’s threats to make Canada the 51st state.
- Mexico: Common cause. China and Mexico are locked into a trade dispute. In March, Mexico’s president said she would review tariffs on Chinese goods, blaming them for undercutting Mexico’s domestic products. But Talisman once again picked up positive sentiment in Chinese online discussions whenever U.S. tariffs appeared. In fact, a high point in average sentiment toward Mexico came on April 3, the day after President Trump announced his new tariffs and the Mexican president announced her comprehensive response tariffs. Some in the Chinese media cited Mexico’s plan as demonstrating “serious opposition” to the tariffs.
The tariffs are clearly roiling international markets. FilterLabs’ analysis suggests they also may be creating trade- and diplomacy-related opportunities for China.
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