As the US and China trade wars over sky-high tariffs continue to add chapters to the contentious book of their cross-border tensions, the Chinese media has taken a dig at President Donald Trump’s MAGA.

Highlighting “a paradox in China-US relations under the Trump administration,” China 24’s resurfaced report cited by CGTN looked at a Chinese factory being responsible for producing merchandise for the Republican leader’s presidential campaigns since the emergence of his 2016 ‘Make America Great Again’ (MAGA). These now-viral claims have evidently slipped out of control on social media, causing frenzied fury, at a time when the US president is repeatedly emphasising the need to “liberate” the United States from its reliance on imported goods.

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Present-day US-China trade war

Presenting an argument to promote domestic manufacturing and protect jobs, Donald Trump introduced hefty levies early April. He also argued that “cheaters” had taken advantage of the United States, and foreigners have “pillaged” the country. In light of his mounting demands, America’s relations with China have only been further dragged through the mud. And to be hit with accusations of relying on the ‘Made in China‘ discourse when he has placed tariffs of up to 145% on Chinese goods, with China retaliating with 125% on US items is synonymous to being hit where it hurts the most.

Resurfaced video reminds Trump’s MAGA merch is Made in China

The video circulating online flips the pages back to a time when preparations for the MAGA leader’s 2020 presidential campaign appeared to be in full swing at a Chinese factory. Asian workers at Jiahao Flag Co. are seen producing endless streams of blue and white Trump banners for the election.

A female staffer eventually speaks her piece, revealing that each worker is tasked with making over a thousand Donald Trump banners a day. The same factory is believed to have made banners for the US politician’s 2016 campaign. In addition to manufacturing Trump banners, Chinese workers can also be seen packing American flags, all reportedly supplied at $1 a piece. “Even suppliers to the Trump campaign can’t resist a low price,” reported CGTN, an English-language news channel based in China.

Irony rings even louder as the same report also points out Trump’s hypocrisy, urging his voters to “buy and hire American” during a years-old rally as part of his former presidential campaign. Back in 2018, Reuters also pushed a photo gallery titled “Trump flags: Made in China,” which supports the resurfaced Chinese media reports.

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US-China trade war of the past

“The banners for President Donald Trump’s second-term campaign, emblazoned with the words “Keep America Great!”, are made in China and soon could be hit by punitive tariffs of Trump’s own making as he ratchets up a rancorous trade dispute with Beijing,” the trusted outlet wrote at the time. Even then, the US-China trade war was at the focus, substantiating remarks related to the “paradox” between the two nations’ relations.

“They are preparing in advance, they are taking advantage of the fact that the tariffs haven’t gone up yet, with lower prices now,” the flag factory manager Yao Yuanyuan said of the large number of banners and merchandise produced at the time. As of July 2018, the Trump administration imposed tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods. Beijing’s subsequent retaliation resulted in Washington announcing taxes on an addition $200 billion worth of products, as per Reuters. The situation marks an uncanny repeat of the past as the tariff wars come eerily full circle in 2025.