T-shirts and phone cases featuring Chinese diplomats' strong words see hot sales after Alaska talks

Peripheral products of Chinese diplomats' strong words at Alaska meeting on Chinese e-commerce platforms. Photo: Screenshot

Products featuring the strong words spoken by top Chinese diplomats at the sharp and confrontational opening of China-US talks in Alaska became popular on Chinese e-commerce platforms from Friday, as the blunt rebuttal against the US is making headlines and gaining overwhelming support in China.

T-shirts and mobile phone cases bearing slogans such as "Chinese people don't buy it", "Stop interfering in China's internal affairs" and "the US does not have the qualification to speak to us in a condescending manner," appeared on the shelves of Chinese e-commerce platforms like Taobao and Pinduoduo.

"The sales performance is very good as we received hundreds of orders within just half a day," a manager surnamed Yu from a custom cell phone case shop on Taobao told the Global Times on Sunday, adding that after watching the video of the talks, he was moved by Chinese diplomats' sharp words, which inspired him to release the new case designs.

"In the very beginning, I was a little concerned about Taobao's rules on the involvement of political issues, but as the new design contains patriotism, the sales were very hot," Yu added.

A manager surnamed He from a T-shirt design & sales store on Taobao told the Global Times that they have already produced 300 shirts with the diplomats' words printed, and they can ship immediately after receiving orders.

"If the new designs become a hit, we will add extra production, which will guarantee the shipment within 48 hours," He said.

A poster with the same slogans and designs circulating on China's social media platforms Sina Weibo and WeChat have seen a high level of activity and received overwhelming support among ordinary Chinese netizens.

Under the trending tag of "China-US high-level strategic dialogue" on Sina Weibo on Saturday, a post with the topic "the US does not have the qualification to speak to us in a condescending manner" has seen nearly 60,000 comments, more than 500,000 reposts and almost 1.5 million likes as of 6 pm on Saturday.

The strong and candid remarks were made by top Chinese diplomats at the meeting with their US counterparts in Alaska on Friday, in response to the US officials' inhospitable manners and violations of diplomatic protocols at the high-level bilateral talks.

The remarks are widely deemed to be a signal for the US side to rethink their condescending attitude and bullying approach toward China by observers and Chinese netizens.

Slogans like "Chinese people don't buy it" and "support China" have been repeatedly cited by Sina Weibo users to show support to their country and diplomats under the comment section.

The quick moves of some venders have received an array of feedback from netizens.

On the posts of the peripheral products' links, some netizens said they made orders and liked the designs, while some netizens consider the marketing moves too commercial and inappropriate.

"Normally, our designs are based on customer's needs. However, after watching the news that our diplomats strongly hit back at the US side's insolent action, I was somehow proud of them, and was thinking: could I do something from my business to support them? And the new design was not out of line with customers' needs," Yu said.

"The retail price for a mobile phone case with the diplomats' words printed is only 13.8 yuan ($1.9) instead of the normal price of 36 yuan. I just want the price to be affordable for patriots," Yu added.

Yu said that from the time between release of the new design and the first shipment was only two hours, due to the high efficiency of each area of his business process, and the quick responses of businesspeople to the Alaska talks reflect Chinese industrial efficiency.

"The up and down stream of the industrial chain is speeding up, for example, our machines are smarter than before, the express services are quicker and the online platforms are also getting more convenient, which have enabled the industry's quick reaction," Yu said.