On April 21, U.S. President Donald Trump posted three photos on his social media platform Truth Social, captioned “A Gift from China in the Pacific Ocean!” The images showed large amounts of trash floating in the ocean. However, media investigations revealed that these photos were old images circulating online for years, some not even from the Pacific Ocean, and one was digitally altered. The Chinese state media WeChat public account “Bull Piano” (Niu Tanqin) criticized Trump, saying he should issue a public, serious, and solemn apology for spreading falsehoods.
“Bull Piano” published an article on Monday (April 28) stating that Trump posted three pictures showing massive ocean garbage, claiming it was a “gift from China.” But the photos were either outdated or outright fake. The article pointed out the irony that Trump, who often condemns “fake news,” was actually fabricating stories to slander and demonize China.
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Trump posted three pictures showing massive ocean garbage, claiming it was a “gift from China.”
The first photo was taken by nature photographer Ethan Daniels
The second photo was posted by underwater photographer Caroline Power on Facebook in 2017.
The third photo was found to be a composite image。
Trump posted three pictures showing massive ocean garbage, claiming it was a “gift from China.”
As the U.S. president, Trump’s posts attracted wide attention and many shares. The images of dense ocean trash were shocking, and Trump immediately blamed China without any proof. The article questioned how Trump could prove the trash originated from China, given the vast number of islands and countries in the Pacific. It argued that it was not easy for Chinese naval forces to bypass the so-called first and second island chains in the Pacific while this trash supposedly floated freely.
Mainland media soon exposed the lies with evidence, pointing out clear flaws in each photo:
The first photo was taken by nature photographer Ethan Daniels
The first photo was taken by nature photographer Ethan Daniels in July 2017 near Raja Ampat of West Papua in Indonesia, further east and south of the Philippines, separated from China by many islands.
The second photo was posted by underwater photographer Caroline Power on Facebook in 2017.
The second photo, taken near Roatan Island in northern Honduras, was posted by underwater photographer Caroline Power on Facebook in 2017. At the time, media reported that the trash came from neighboring Guatemala, but this area is not in the Pacific but in the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, much closer to the U.S.
The third photo was found to be a composite image。
The third photo was found to be a composite image: the left side was an Associated Press photo of a floating barrier assembled in California to collect ocean trash; the right side was another trash photo by Caroline Power, which had been published by multiple media.
“Bull Piano” questioned where Trump found these images and criticized that he posted them without any fact-checking, causing a major embarrassment and making the world laugh at him. It said it was hard to imagine if Chinese officials did the same by using old or doctored photos to accuse the U.S., which would become a diplomatic incident. The article also questioned the competence of those preparing materials for Trump, suggesting they lacked basic journalistic literacy.
The article emphasized that deliberately spreading rumors to smear another country, especially by a leader, requires careful words and deeds. Since Trump is not an ordinary netizen, the consequences could be serious, possibly requiring not only an apology but administrative detention in some countries. Given the clear evidence, the U.S. should apologize, and if Trump is too embarrassed to do so, the White House spokesperson should issue a formal apology on his behalf.
The article also noted a recent phenomenon: U.S. officials keep hinting or openly stating that talks with China are ongoing daily and that tariff agreements are imminent. This forced China’s Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Commerce, and embassy in the U.S. repeatedly clarify that there is no contact, negotiations, nor agreements. The article concluded that Americans are anxious while the Chinese remain calm.
In a humorous twist at the end of the article, it quips, 'A friend suddenly had an epiphany: there’s a significant possibility that the American leader might have received a scam call from one of those notorious fraud hubs from Myanmar!'
Mao Paishou
** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **
The South Carolina Republican stepped onto Fox News on March 8 boasting that a US-driven regime change in Iran would be "China's nightmare." American media fired back: China has already done the homework and it may even gain an advantage during geopolitical crises.".
US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham
Graham told Fox News that if America successfully overthrows the Iranian government, the operation would rank as "the best money ever spent." "Nobody," he declared, will "threaten [the US] in the Strait of Hormuz again" and Washington would install a "friendly" government in Tehran.
Strait of Hormuz
Graham then pivoted to China. "Venezuela and Iran hold 31% of the world's oil reserves," he said. Control that share, and America would "make a ton of money"—a scenario he called "China's nightmare." The math sounds seductive. The Washington Post wasn't buying it though. On March 13, the paper published a detailed rebuttal, arguing that after years of careful strategic planning, China is now more capable than most countries of weathering a prolonged surge in oil and gas prices.
The report notes that after years of planning, China is more resilient than most countries in facing prolonged oil and gas price spikes.
China's Multi-Layered Energy Fortress
Think of China's energy strategy as a multi-layered fortress. Massive crude oil reserves, a fast-growing electric vehicle industry, and enormous investment in coal, renewables, and energy storage all combine to give Beijing a commanding defensive position against supply shocks. As solar and wind projects multiply and new coal-fired plants come online, China's economy is running increasingly on domestic electricity—not imported fossil fuels.
The numbers back that up. China holds around 1.3 billion barrels of crude oil reserves—enough to weather six full months of Hormuz supply disruption. Its rapid buildout of coal-fired generation provides a robust backstop, keeping industrial output and grid stability intact even when import lines go dark.
About one-third of China’s energy consumption comes from electricity, and more than one-third of that is generated from solar, wind and hydropower.
Ben Cahill, an energy expert at the University of Texas at Austin, puts it plainly: China treats import dependence as a strategic vulnerability and has spent years building walls against it. Data from Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy confirms the payoff—roughly one-third of China's total energy consumption now comes from electricity, and more than a third of that electricity flows from solar, wind, and hydropower, mostly generated with domestic components.
China is in a leading position in the manufacturing and use of electric vehicles.
On the roads, the transformation is equally striking. Most new cars sold in China are now EVs, making it the world leader in both EV production and use. The International Energy Agency credits China's energy transition with avoiding an additional 1.2 million barrels of oil demand per day since 2019—structural savings that give Beijing lasting insulation from precisely the kind of supply shocks Graham is gleefully predicting.
Weaning Off the Hormuz Lifeline
Rush Doshi, Director of the China Strategy Initiative at the Council on Foreign Relations, brings a two-decade perspective. China has systematically reduced its reliance on seaborne oil imports, he notes. Crude flowing through the Strait of Hormuz now accounts for only 40–50% of China's total seaborne oil imports—down significantly from earlier levels.
The contrast with the US is stark. The Washington Post notes that America lags badly in renewable energy and EVs, with an aging power grid pushing electricity costs higher. President Trump's moves to block clean energy projects and slash renewable subsidies have further strangled the growth of wind and solar—leaving the US far more exposed to global oil shocks than its own hawkish rhetoric would suggest.
The irony runs deeper still. The very energy crisis Graham is celebrating could make China an even more attractive partner in renewable energy cooperation. Solar panel glass and grid storage equipment still rely partly on fossil fuels in their production—but China already holds a commanding position in clean energy innovation.
The current crisis may spur a global push for clean energy innovation—and China has already built a strong presence in this field.
American energy policy expert Sarah Ladislaw frames it succinctly: "The current crisis could accelerate the global search for clean energy innovation—and China is already ahead in that field."
Jason Bordoff, founding director of Columbia's Center on Global Energy Policy, captures the emerging paradox head-on. "If you are, say, in Europe, you might not have wanted to increase your dependence on China for all the stuff you need for electrification, like critical minerals and batteries and solar panels," he says. "But in a world where now the oil and gas market looks pretty risky, too, increasing dependence on China for energy may start to look a little different."
