China has rebuked U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance for calling the Chinese people "peasants" in an interview that sparked a wave of anger and outrage on the Chinese internet, CNN reports.
Speaking to Fox News last week, Vance defended President Donald Trump's market-heavy tariffs and opposed the "globalist economy".
"What has the globalist economy of the United States of America gained? And the answer is that it is fundamentally based on two principles: accumulating huge debts to buy things that other countries make for us," he said.
"To make it crystal clear, we are borrowing money from Chinese farmers to buy the things that these Chinese farmers produce," Vance added.
When asked about Vance's remarks at a regular briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said: "It is both astonishing and unfortunate to hear this vice president make such ignorant and disrespectful remarks."
Clips of Vance's interview flooded the Chinese internet this week, sparking a strong reaction in the country, where cities are rolling out self-made electric vehicles and remote counties are connected by a national network of high-speed rail. lines.
"This real "peasant" who came from rural America seems to have no prospects," said Hu Xijin, the influential former editor-in-chief of the state-run tabloid Global Times. "Many people are urging him to come and see China for himself.".
The hashtag for Vance's comment became the most trending topic on Weibo, with 140 million views as of this afternoon.
"Look, this is their true face - arrogant and rude as ever," said one comment, liked 2,900 times.
"We may be peasants, but we have the best high-speed rail system in the world, the most powerful logistics capabilities, and leading-edge technologies in artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, and drones. Aren't these peasants pretty impressive?", another user asked rhetorically.
Others noted the irony of Vance's statement, given his own working-class upbringing, as described in his 2016 memoir.
In the book, Vance describes his childhood, plagued by poverty, abuse and his mother's drug addiction, spent in part in Appalachia, a corner of the United States that he believes has been forgotten by wealthy elites. The book by Vance, a venture capitalist before entering politics, caused a sensation after Trump's first election victory and was seen as an explanation for the billionaire's rise among the white working class.