Why China is suddenly obsessed with American poverty
by Li Yuan · Australian Financial ReviewLi Yuan
Jan 13, 2026 – 5.26pm
Chinese commentators are talking a lot these days about poverty in the United States, claiming China’s superiority by appropriating an evocative phrase from video game culture.
The phrase “kill line” is used in gaming to mark the point where the condition of opposing players has so deteriorated that they can be killed by one shot. Now, it has become a persistent metaphor in Communist Party propaganda.
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