Hillbilly Vance’s “Chinese Peasant” Problem

In their piece “Your Home Without China,” New York Times reporters Pablo Robles, Agnes Chang, and Lazaro Gamio showed Americans how they depend on products from China in their home life. From the interactive graphics, readers could see that 99% of their toasters, 99% of alarm clocks, 97% of baby strollers, 96% of thermoses, 96% of charcoal grills, 90% of microwaves, 90% of first aid kits, 86% of gaming consoles, 83% of blenders, 82% of pots and pans, 80% of dishes, 76% of toys, and more were made in Chinam — or in VP Vance’s typically insulting words, by “Chinese peasants.”

Not only everyday Americans, our MAGA president Trump, who complained about China “ripping us off like nobody’s ever ripped us off,” and imposed 145% eye-watering tariffs on Chinese imports, also depends on those “peasant” products from China.

The comedian and YouTuber Walter Masterson went to Trump Tower to investigate if Trump walked the walk of his “Buy American” with his own merch. Of course not. As Masterson showed in his video, of the random items he picked up from the shelves, a pair of Trump socks, a Trump bobblehead, and a Trump mug were all made in China, with one Trump T-shirt made in Bangladesh.

It is more than ironic that the proud and patriotic MAGA movement had to rely on  “peasant” factories in China, such as Jiahao Flag Co. Ltd. in Anhui Province, to make their flags or hats. It was rich and revealing of J.D. Vance, our hillbilly vice president, in his contempt for the Chinese workers, entrepreneurs, engineers, factory owners, and exporters who cater to the American market, calling them “Chinese peasants.”

Vance should know that it was not the “Chinese peasants” who stole jobs from the Americans; rather, it was American companies that placed orders for their products from Chinese manufacturers. It was not the “Chinese peasants” who caused factory shutdowns in the U.S.; it was American policy makers who had not prepared American manufacturers and workers for the “China shock” following China’s accession into the WTO, which the U.S. Congress approved.

Furthermore, it was not the “Chinese peasants” who were responsible for China’s mercantile- and export-heavy trade policy, it was the Chinese Communist Party bent on fast-growing the country’s economy. It was not the “Chinese peasants” who gave the U.S. its persistent trade deficit, as Trump said himself that he blamed previous presidents. And it was also not the “Chinese peasants” who ripped off Americans, it was American importers and brand owners who made the most of the profit of a product from China. A MAGA hat on Alibaba shopping platform, for instance, sells from ￥5 (yuan) to ￥15 (yuan), about $0.69 to $2.06. At Trump store, a MAGA hat sells for $55.00.

Vice President Vance should also learn from the Republicans of a previous Congress, who established the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party in 2022, with Rep. Mike Gallagher as its first chair, aimed for bipartisan work on the threat posed by the CCP. The U.S. has a problem with the Communist Party, not the Chinese people (or “Chinese peasants'”). The party may boast a membership of 99 million, that still comes out to about seven percent of the country’s total population of 1.4 billion.

JD Vance should also realize that his “Chinese peasants” are descendants of those who fought Japanese invaders in the Pacific theater of WWII when the U.S. and China were allies and helped save lives of injured American Flying Tiger pilots. They are compatriots of those who protested in Tiananmen Square for reform and freedom, and more recently, the severe Covid lockdowns in Shanghai with blank paper signs.

They were among busloads of tourists before Covid who traveled in the U.S. and shopped at Macy’s. They have also been parents and family members of the Chinese students (277,000 in 2023-2024 academic year, a drop from a peak of 372,000 in 2019-2020), who pay full tuitions at American universities, contributing $10-$15 billion a year to the U.S. economy. Also, these “Chinese peasants” also built the world’s largest high-speed rail system, which our last U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns enjoyed so much that he traveled everywhere in China on it.

What better way to avoid a conflict between the U.S. and China than engaging in more trade with each other? The administration’s 145% tariffs may indeed punish the “Chinese peasants,” with U.S. orders plunging; they might also turn some Americans into hillbillies, if not peasants, with struggling businesses face with higher prices and slumping demand. If Vance is all in for a trade embargo with China, he, along with his boss President Trump, should first set an example in buying American and ridding their homes or stores of any “Chinese peasant” products by yesterday.