American influencer Jeremy Barker says his view of China changed completely after connecting with Chinese users on RedNote.
RedNote, known as Xiaohongshu in China, saw a sudden surge in popularity among American users as TikTok faced a possible ban on Jan 19, 2025. The app became a haven for American content creators and users, who have come to identify themselves as "TikTok refugees", seeking an alternative to TikTok.
Barker joined RedNote during this wave and started sharing his thoughts and engaging with Chinese users.
What began as casual online exchanges soon became an eye-opening experience, reshaping his understanding of the country and surprising him with China's rapid technological advancement.
"The view of China in America is changing every day, and as we learn more, we're starting to really appreciate China more. I didn't expect China to be as technologically advanced as it is because we don't get a lot of information about [it]," he said.
"We get Chinese products here in America, right? But we don't get a lot of information about things like the Thorium reactors, for instance, that China has been working on, right? Nobody in America knows about those. But that's groundbreaking. It's groundbreaking research. It's groundbreaking technology," he said.
American influencer says interacting with Chinese users on Rednote reshaped his view of China
