Japan not to team up against China?

CHINESE MANUFACTURERS ARE flooding TikTok and other social media apps with direct appeals to American shoppers, urging people to buy luxury items straight from their factories.

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And amid the threats of sky-high tariffs on Chinese exports, Americans seem to be all in.

The pitch in the videos is that people can buy leggings and handbags exactly like those from brands like Lululemon, Hermès, and Birkenstock, but for a fraction of the price. They claim, often falsely, that the products are made in the same factories that produce items for those brands.

American influencers have embraced the videos, promoting the factories and driving downloads of Chinese shopping apps like DHGate and Taobao as a way for shoppers to save money if the price of goods skyrockets under President Trump's tariffs on Chinese imports. DHGate was among the 10 most downloaded apps in Apple's and Google's app stores last week.