Chinese political analysts are weighing in on the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, an American conservative political activist and close ally of President Donald Trump.
The 31-year-old co-founder of Turning Point USA, a high-profile conservative youth organization, was shot in the neck by a sniper on Wednesday during a Q&A session at Utah Valley University.
Why It Matters
Shootings, police violence, the opioid epidemic and other persistent social crises have long been recurring themes in commentary by Chinese officials and state-aligned voices on social media. These incidents are frequently held up as evidence of what Beijing calls the failings of the U.S. political system and social structure.
While state media coverage of Kirk’s death has remained largely factual, censors do not appear to be limiting discussion in the comment sections—a tactic often used to suppress sensitive or politically awkward narratives.
Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. by email for comment.
Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images
What To Know
Yi Shen, a professor of international politics and director of Fudan University’s Research Center for the Governance of Global Cyberspace, warned that political polarization in the U.S. is likely to deepen in the aftermath of Kirk’s death.
Yi, who has nearly 2 million followers on Chinese social media, wrote that while both major political camps will likely condemn the violence, each side will point to fundamentally different causes—and use the incident to reinforce its own worldview.
“The cycle intensifies continuously, posing enormous risks to society and the nation as a whole,” he said.
Hu Xijin, a prominent commentator and former editor of the nationalist Global Times newspaper, also took up the topic.
In a Weibo post, Hu pointed to the two assassination attempts on Trump last year and wrote that such threats are a long-standing undercurrent in American politics.
“From Lincoln to McKinley, from the Kennedy brothers to Martin Luther King Jr., and later Reagan and now Trump,” Hu wrote, adding that rising economic insecurity, racial tensions and inflammatory political rhetoric have fed a growing perception that politics in the U.S. is a “zero-sum game.”
As for Kirk, Hu predicted that conservatives would seek retaliation.
Chinese netizens have also expressed their views.
“Authentic American-style freedom,” one Weibo user wrote.
“Supported the right to bear arms and opposed gun control—then died at the muzzle of a gun?” another said.
“Over 100 people are shot to death in the U.S. every day—this isn’t even 1 percent of a single day’s total! The only reason this one stands out is because the victim had a big following,” one person commented on the short-video-sharing platform Bilibili. “Will the chaos on Capitol Hill Wednesday night escalate into a nationwide free-for-all? Let’s follow how this unfolds and wait to see.”
Kirk was credited with helping bring younger voters into the conservative movement. He also drew criticism for rhetoric seen as disparaging toward Black Americans, women and the LGBTQ+ community.
What Happens Next
U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle condemned the shooting. In a video uploaded to Truth Social, Trump linked the attack to rhetoric from “the radical left” and vowed to identify “each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity.”
Trump has ordered U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff until Sunday evening.
As of mid-afternoon Thursday ET, the suspected shooter remained at large.
About the Author
