Overview

• JD Vance referred to 'Chinese peasants' in a Fox News interview, sparking outrage and ridicule from Chinese officials and social media users.
• The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a strong rebuke, calling Vance's remarks 'ignorant and disrespectful.'
• China’s state-controlled internet amplified the controversy, allowing the remarks to go viral within hours of the interview.
• The incident occurs against the backdrop of escalating US-China trade tensions, adding a geopolitical dimension to the controversy.
• Vance’s 'hillbilly' background, as highlighted in his memoir 'Hillbilly Elegy,' has been a focal point of online mockery in China.