(This Jan. 15 story has been corrected to clarify that registration is allowed with a foreign phone number, and not require users to have a Chinese phone number, in paragraph 11)
By Brenda Goh
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Users of the Chinese social media app RedNote welcomed “TikTok refugees” from the United States with selfies and messages on Wednesday, as Beijing said it encouraged stronger cultural ties with other countries in response to the sudden influx.
Known in China as Xiaohongshu and as a platform to find lifestyle recommendations on areas from beauty to food, the app has in recent days been transformed into an unexpected bilateral channel for U.S.-China exchanges, with users swapping photos and questions about pets, favourite foods and their lives.
Not everyone was happy, though, with some grumbling that their platform was being taken over and nationalist bloggers warning against American influences.
The influx of more than…
