On the 100th day of President Donald Trump’s second term, China issued a brash challenge to American leadership, releasing a fiery propaganda video declaring it will “never kneel down” to U.S. pressure — a direct reaction to Trump’s aggressive new trade policies.
The video titled “Never Kneel Down!” was posted Tuesday, April 29 by the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s official X account, @MFA_China. The timing is conspicuous: It coincided with President Trump’s 100th day in office.
“When the rest of the world stands together in solidarity, the U.S. is just a small, stranded boat,” an AI narration warns, over dramatic storm footage and war imagery.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the video also accuses the U.S. of “coercion” and labels American tariff strategy a “deadly trap.”
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In another ominous line, the narration states: “Bowing to a bully is like drinking poison to quench thirst.” The video includes imagery of the Korean War and the 2021 return of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, portraying both as symbols of China’s “resistance.”
Earlier this month, President Trump imposed a 145% tariff on Chinese imports while granting a 90-day tariff pause for all other nations, effectively isolating China. Trump’s strategy aims to reward fair trade partners while pressuring Beijing for reforms.
China retaliated with 125% tariffs on U.S. goods, but many analysts say the CCP is operating from a weaker position.
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“It’s up to China to de-escalate, because they sell five times more to us than we sell to them,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday on CNBC.
The CCP’s video, published in both English and Mandarin, uses heavy-handed messaging and historical imagery to portray China as a victim of Western dominance — a common trope in official Chinese media. According to the WSJ report, the video claims: “History has proven compromise won’t earn you mercy—kneeling only invites more bullying.”
Beijing’s saber-rattling comes amid rising domestic pressure: Youth unemployment in China is at record highs, and GDP growth has slowed, according to Bloomberg Economics and the International Monetary Fund.
This is not the first time Trump has put China in check. During his first term, he imposed tariffs on more than $360 billion in Chinese goods, citing intellectual property theft and forced tech transfers. That campaign led to the Phase One Trade Deal signed in 2020.
Now back in office, Trump’s strategy is making Chinese economic policymakers nervous.
“All bullies are just paper tigers,” the AI narrator says while showing a tiger holding an American flag in its tail.
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Trump’s tariffs are putting real economic pressure on Beijing, at a time when the nation can ill-afford it.