How the TikTok Ban-Bluff Introduced Millions to Xiaohongshu and Could Change the Way We See Social Media.
Two weeks ago millions of faithful Tiktok users were in panic mode because of a looming shutdown.
Little did they know that the chances of TikTok actually being banned in the US were pretty slim, because ByteDance, the company behind TikTok, has some powerful Western shareholders. Sixty per cent of the company is owned by large institutional investors, including household names like General Atlantic, KKR and BlackRock. The idea that they would allow billions to be wiped off their balance sheets always felt a bit silly.
So the 19 January deadline to shut down TikTok was probably just a bluff. But many TikTok users took the threat seriously and began looking for a new digital home. Somehow, a rumour began to spread that the social media platform Xiaohongshu (XHS) was the “Chinese TikTok” — which, of course, is not true. That is Douyin, also owned by ByteDance.
Xiaohongshu, or RedNote as the app is called in the West, is much more than a short-video app. With 300 million monthly active users, it is a multi-faceted platform that goes far beyond what TikTok offers.
Chinese apps are evolving. All the time.
While many Western apps and services remain tied to the features that made them successful in the first place, Chinese apps are constantly evolving. They always add features, creating a complexity that feels natural in China, but is often seen as potentially alienating to Western users used to simple apps with a clear focus.
Xiaohongshu, launched in 2013, is a prime example of this kind of app evolution. Today, it combines the functionality of apps such as Instagram, Pinterest and Reddit with a robust e-commerce ecosystem. Although the app has been available in Western app stores for some time, it has had few Western users due to its lack of localisation. Until now, its user base outside China has consisted mainly of Chinese-speaking individuals living abroad.
That all changed suddenly two weeks ago with the threat of the TikTok ban. Using the hashtag #TikTokRefugee, millions of Western users signed up for Xiaohongshu. So many, in fact, that Duolingo saw a surge in registrations for its Mandarin programs…
This inadvertently created a situation where, for perhaps the first time, millions of Western Internet users were exposed to an unaltered, unfiltered Chinese social media experience.
After the first two weeks of this fascinating experiment, three interesting lessons have emerged:
Lesson #1: Social Media Can Be Truly Social
Social media in China isn’t a competitive contact sport for individualists. It’s slower, more relaxed, and above all, friendlier. Interactions feel more like a casual chat in a neighborhood café than the frenzied chaos of a department store on Black Friday — which Western social media often feels like.
Chinese XHS users welcomed the influx of new users, helping them navigate an app they often couldn’t understand and fostering a sense of mutual excitement about the cultural exchange. For many Western users, this was a very unfamiliar experience.
Lesson #2: Less Advertising, Better User Experience
The friendlier atmosphere isn’t just cultural — it’s also structural. One common comment from surprised Western users was, “Why is there so little advertising?!” This discovery points to one of the main reasons why apps in China are more social.
Western social media platforms rely heavily on advertising, because it is their only business model. Over the years, they’ve optimized it by increasing ad placements and designing user experiences that provoke more activity — often using negative incentives. This has turned many Western platforms into places where people constantly compare themselves, seek validation, or vent frustrations.
Polarization and emotionalization have become critical revenue drivers, fueling high stock valuations but also creating platforms that generate stress and exhaust their users.
Xiaohongshu also generates most of its revenue from advertising. However, it focuses on fostering harmonious communities with a positive vibe to encourage users to return. Negative emotions like anger are counterproductive in this context. As a result, a more respectful atmosphere has developed — a difference Western users immediately noticed and appreciated.
Sure, China is no democracy and censorship is everywhere, as Western users quickly learned. But many said they felt freer on RedNote because there they didn’t have to fear any harassment from other users.
Lesson #3: Complexity Can Work — also with Western consumers.
As mentioned earlier, RedNote combines features from various Western apps, creating what is known in China as a “lifestyle app.” It’s less about quick dopamine rushes from an endless feed of short videos — although those do exist — and more about longer forms of content, in-depth discussions, and meaningful exchanges.
Part of this ecosystem includes not only influencers (known in China as Key Opinion Leaders, or KOLs), but also Key Opinion Customers (KOCs) — everyday users who share and discuss product experiences. This dynamic is attracting brands who are using the platform not only to find reach for their content, but also to engage with customers and fans in chat groups within the app.
As such, Xiaohongshu is a service focused on fostering dialogue and building relationships — a truly social medium that is mostly product-centric. As part of the aforementioned app evolution typical of Chinese companies, XHS eventually introduced the ability to purchase products directly from the app. Today, the Xiaohongshu Shop is the only channel for brands and KOLs to generate sales, as links to external stores are not allowed.
This mix of rich features, dialog-driven design, and the ever-evolving business model seems to be resonating with more than just Chinese users. While it’s still early, the feedback suggests that China’s approach to social media is indeed working with Western audiences as well.
Wait a minute — this is China?
Nobody knows how long this will last. Western trolls have already begun to appear, disrupting the platform’s welcoming atmosphere. And the Chinese government is erecting censorship barriers to more tightly regulate the free exchange between Chinese and Western users.
But for a brief moment, the Internet became what we once imagined it would be: an open space for building relationships, where people from all over the world could meet and learn from each other.
The interactions on the personal level were one of the most fascinating aspects of this story. Many American users suddenly realized how far their perception of China is from reality. Because life there seems to be so much cheaper, with a perfect & clean infrastructure, safe streets and next level tech everywhere — or as one Tiktok refugee put it:
“RedNote has people finding out in real time that communism has China living in 2077 and capitalism has America living in 1960.”
The whole experience came as a real shock to many:
Of course the “Tiktok refugees” from the West received a very one-sided, often overly positive view of China from their new Xiaohongshu friends. If they got the feeling that Chinese workers are being crushed less than their American counterparts, it probably says more about Chinese resilience than their economic situation. But still…
What does this mean for Western social media platforms?
Tighter censorship by Chinese authorities and the continued operation of TikTok may ensure that this remains a short-lived interlude. But even as a fleeting moment, it should be an eye-opener — especially for Western social media platforms. Because there is something we can learn from the huge differences between social media in China and the West:
Strategies are different…
As discussed above, social media apps in the West often drive engagement through negative feedback loops, anger, envy, and polarization to boost ad sales. In contrast, Chinese communities focus on harmony and creating a positive atmosphere to encourage the users to return. These different strategies are probably the main reason why social media feels so different!
…Users are not!
But here is the big surprise: people in China and the West are not so different after all! As we can see from the feedback from Western RedNote users, they love the harmonious approach of the Chinese apps. Most Western users don’t want to be yelled at, feel belittled, or fight for survival every time they log into their favorite social media app. Or as one woman says in her reflection on her Rednote experience:
„We come here to RedNote to be at peace. We come here to laugh, to be inspired, to uplift one another and be an inspiration.“
All things she seems to be missing in the West. Could this hint at a significant growth potential for our social media platforms?
If so, here’s the good news: maybe we don’t have to destroy our societies to grow the ad businesses of some of the most valuable companies on the planet! Hooray!
It might be good business for these companies to stop transforming their services into advertising hellscapes.
Instead: Make Social Media Social Again!
And when they think about changing strategies, Meta et al. might also want to consider this question:
What will RedNote do with this newfound growth potential?
In just a few days, the platform has localized and adapted its app for international users with remarkable speed. Perhaps Xiaohongshu has finally found a way to successfully scale its business globally after several failed attempts in the past.
And as we’ve seen with Temu, SHEIN, and of course TikTok, Chinese companies can be incredibly successful in the West if they really set their minds to it…
The German version of this text was first published in the January 29 issue of the China.Table newsletter (More about the China.Table).
