‘I’m filled with the most impotent rage’: Americans are becoming radicalized after seeing grocery, healthcare costs in China

Americans switching to RedNote ahead of the TikTok ban are becoming radicalized after learning what Chinese citizens spend on groceries and healthcare. After a lifetime of being told that life in China is terrible under an oppressive government that keeps all of its people in abject poverty, "TikTok refugees" are getting a different story straight from the mouths of Chinese citizens.

U.S. residents who have been struggling to survive as the price of eggs rises to $6 per carton are making furious videos demanding to know why twice the amount of eggs cost 25 cents in China.

'The government has been lying to us about China'

After watching average videos on RedNote and making contact with residents of China who were previously isolated from them, some TikTokers are convinced that they've been misled about the quality of life in this far-away nation. This is fueling anger among those frustrated with the constant rise in the cost of living in the U.S.

"The government has been lying to us about China for decades," says TikTok user @futuredeadbruja.

@futuredeadbruja Till my last breath I’ll be yapping about our worthless gov. #tiktok #tiktokban #rednote ♬ original sound - Aasha ????

"Now that we've all gotten on RedNote and we can see the lifestyle that all of the Chinese people have, a lot of us Americans are f*cking pissed."

"And the people on RedNote are so f*cking flabbergasted that we have to work two jobs just to keep our roof over our head."

TikTok users spent years watching shopping hauls on the platform by more affluent users, only able to experience a sense of financial security vicariously through these videos. On RedNote, the new American users drool over affordable "grocery hauls."

"Chinese grocery hauls are insane because they can actually afford food," explains @danabanafofana.

Another TikToker, @kyleostromecky, made a video after comparing grocery prices in the U.S. and China with a RedNote user. He did the math and discovered that $7 worth of corn in America costs only 97 cents here.

$50 for an ambulance ride in China

As always, one of the biggest concerns when it comes to money in the U.S. is medical bills. TikTok user @indigo_dahlia cried in a recent video after getting on RedNote and learning about how many Chinese citizens live—working less than 40 hours per week instead of 60 and owning their homes instead of paying $2,000 per month in rent.

She explains that she "did everything right" but had to drop out of college to take care of her disabled mother because the U.S. healthcare system sure wasn't going to.

@indigo_dahlia the amount of things i have realized the truth about in regards to well everything in the last few days has been overwhelming and i really understand why we were never allowed to do this before also if this app is going away idgaf about ugly crying on the internet at this point #fyp #fup #foryoupage #tiktokban #meta #fafo #2025 #itsalltoomuch #red #rage ♬ Suspense, horror, piano and music box - takaya

"No social services, no safety net," she said. "My mom was disabled, and she lived on credit, and like, she barely made ends meet and she did everything she was supposed to."

"My suffering was at the expense of someone else becoming wealthy because they could."

Meanwhile, on RedNote, one user expressed shock over the costs of common healthcare-related services like an ambulance ride, revealing that the average price for this in Shanghai, "the most expensive city in China," is just $50.

"Red Note is doing what they feared Tik Tok would" wrote @JessicaLBurbank above screenshots from one TikTok reading, "Someone on REDNOTE asked if it's true that minimum wage hasn't been increased in 16 years or if it was just their government's propaganda?" alongside a similar sentiment: "Someone in the comments of REDNOTE asked me if we really had to pay for an ambulance in America or if that was just their government's propaganda."

Why are things cheaper in China?

Part of the reason everyday necessities like groceries cost less in China is because their average income is significantly less. According to the World Population Review, the median income per person in the U.S. in 2020 was $19,306, compared to $4,426 in China.

There's also a wealth gap in China between urban and rural residents, and those prolific on RedNote may be more likely to live in the city. According to the National Bureau of Statistics in China, the average urban income is $7,068 compared to $2,959 in the country.

Still, this doesn't seem to account for corn costing seven times as much in the U.S. compared to China considering our average income is four times higher. That gap gets much worse when it comes to healthcare costs, exacerbating the anger U.S. residents were already feeling on the subject.

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