Reference News Network March 17 report: The UK's Guardian website published an article titled "The 'Killing Line' and 'Ultra-Chineseization': A Window into Sino-US Mutual Perceptions" on March 13. The following is a translated summary:

Over the past few months, a peculiar "mirror" phenomenon has emerged in two typically isolated internet worlds. On TikTok and Instagram, young people are enthusiastically immersed in Chinese culture - from drinking hot water to playing mahjong, all of which are labeled as "Ultra-Chineseization." However, on the Chinese internet, the United States is losing its decades-long dominance in soft power, replaced by a more pessimistic trending topic: "Killing Line."

The "Killing Line" is quite dangerous. In games, it refers to a player's life points being extremely low, reaching a critical point where one hit can kill.

There are many discussions about the so-called "Killing Line" in the U.S. society on Chinese media. A Chinese news anchor said, "Indeed, the U.S. society has a 'Killing Line.' Once the middle class falls to this level, they will plunge into the underclass... This 'Killing Line' reveals the dual nature of the U.S.: winners achieve great success, while losers fall into an irreversible abyss."

On China's social platform Weibo, the hashtag related to "U.S. Killing Line" has already exceeded 600 million views. Chinese people used to regard the United States as a land full of opportunities and prosperity, especially after China's opening-up in the late 1970s, when information exchanges between China and the U.S. became increasingly frequent.

But by the end of 2025, the situation changed.

The trend began last November, when a Chinese student living in Seattle described in a live video on the Chinese video platform Bilibili the hungry children she saw on Halloween, as well as the harsh reality of vulnerable groups in the world's largest economy. The term "Killing Line" then began to spread widely and was given a new meaning.

Hao Lan Wang, a researcher at the Asia Society in the U.S., said: "For a long time, we knew that the Chinese have always looked up to the U.S." He said that a series of events, from the 2008 financial crisis to the U.S. handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, had turned this admiration into a curiosity about the country's "chaos."

Some Chinese netizens said that the Sino-U.S. trade war was the most important reason for the sharp decline in Chinese people's favorability toward the U.S. "Chinese people now criticize the U.S. much more strongly. Their attitude toward the U.S. has been constantly changing, closely related to the changes in the balance of power between the two countries."

When Chinese netizens were shocked by the reality of the U.S. being torn apart by poverty and chaos, American netizens were the opposite. With the rise of the "Ultra-Chineseization" trend, American teenagers began to be addicted to traditional Chinese lifestyles, such as drinking hot water and wearing slippers indoors. The slogan of this trend is "You met me at a moment when I was very Chinese."

In response, the Chinese government has welcomed this. Beijing is vigorously developing tourism and has relaxed visa requirements for tourists from many European countries. Internet celebrities who like to depict the beautiful aspects of Chinese life are very popular. (Translated by Wenyi)

Original: toutiao.com/article/7618036052841873962/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.