What is happening
With disinformation from authoritarian state actors a growing concern, revelations last week that Chinese state media is targeting social media influencers from the United States gained international attention. The China-Global Youth Influencer Exchange Program (中國-全球青年影響者交流計劃) aims to bring young American influencers to China to show and have them share with their followers “the real China.” An advertisement for the program was published in the China Youth Daily (中國青年報) and with other Chinese state-affiliated media platforms.
This move comes amid heightened U.S.–China tensions: the ongoing trade war, the tightening of visa regulations for Chinese students, and growing suspicion on both sides.
What is the broader picture?
The requirements are straightforward: Participants should have at least 300,000 followers on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube or X, be American citizens, express love of China and Chinese culture and have no “history of bad behaviors.” During the 10-day program, participants will visit the cities of Suzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Handan and Beijing. They will be taken to Chinese technological centers, where they will visit the headquarters of the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu Technology co. (known as RedNote in English) and electric vehicle and battery manufacturer BYD co., and have the opportunity to livestream from the Great Wall.
Sounds cool, doesn’t it?
China’s strategy of using foreign influencers to “tell China’s story well” (講好中國故事)—a slogan introduced by Xi Jinping in 2013—has been analyzed before, but its implications are still underestimated. There remain questions over the extent of the influence wielded by wanghong (網紅, internet celebrities) wield, and why the Chinese government is so eager to bring in foreign influencers.
Stories of foreign influencers serving up Chinese propaganda have increasingly drawn scrutiny from Western media—and from other influencers. Last year the story of Czech TikToker Jan “Honzi” Michálek, who participated in a paid trip to China and promoted Chinese government-linked influencers, made headlines.
Michálek is far from an isolated case—similar examples have emerged in Poland, Greece, and elsewhere. Just this April, popular American YouTuber IShowSpeed, who has 47 million followers, toured China, documenting nearly every moment of his trip and becoming “an accidental ambassador for Chinese soft power”.
In some cases, influencer naivety or ignorance of the Chinese political context has provoked backlash. In Czechia, this became a national conversation when another popular influencer, Martin Mikyska (aka Mikýř), tricked Czech and Slovak influencers into accepting a fake partnership with a fictional Chinese company. His secretly recorded video of staged meetings—with actors posing as company representatives—went viral and sparked controversy.
Why does it matter?
While China opens its doors to young foreigners and offers free trips to shape foreign perceptions, the US is heading in the opposite direction—tightening visa rules and reducing educational opportunities for Chinese students. This is more than a diplomatic tit-for-tat. It’s a missed opportunity and a strategic failure.
China is investing heavily in shaping global narratives and expanding its soft power. Western democracies, meanwhile, remain largely passive—not only in countering disinformation but also in proactive strategic communication and in offering attractive, value-driven alternatives.
Placing restrictions on Chinese students does not solve the real problem. On the contrary, it weakens Western influence and undermines long-term engagement. Europe, in particular, can and should do better.
That means investing in high-quality education, safeguarding academic institutions, and rejecting exclusionary or supremacist thinking. The answer lies in confident, inclusive engagement: welcoming talented students, promoting our democratic values, and strengthening academic and cultural exchange—not with naivety, but without fear.
