Chinese social media is awash with criticisms of the US, but is it possible to go too far?

As the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran continues, Chinese social media is buzzing with condemnations of Washington, expressions of sympathy for Tehran and an outpouring of unsolicited strategic advice.The conflict, which began with the February 28 air strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has dominated the list of trending topics on the country’s main platforms, such as WeChat, Weibo and Douyin.Social media is tightly controlled and most of the comments published have been heavily critical of the United States.These tend to echo Beijing’s official position by accusing Washington of violating Iranian sovereignty and adopting classic “hegemonic” behaviour, even if the tone is much more informal.In contrast to Beijing’s official statements, the dominant reactions online are characterised by sarcasm and mockery, with the US embassy’s official accounts being a particular target.While the official US accounts largely repost or translate official statements about the war, the reply sections are quickly flooded with angry comments about what the US military calls “precision” strikes.