How a Chinese Anti-American P2P Platform Monetizes Fans

Hundreds of police swarmed the streets of Beijing's financial district on August 6 as Chinese authorities aggressively quashed a planned protest against losses sustained by peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms. Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images

Commentary

On May 21, 2021, Shenzhen Public Security Bureau made a case report on three P2P (peer-to-peer) lending platforms, Ideal Treasure, RJS Investment, and Xitou.com, accusing them of fraud. Xitou.com attracted special attention among the three platforms because its owner, Huang Sheng, is known for his pro-Chinese communist party (CCP) and anti-American views. Netizens summarized the strategy he took to raise investments as defaming America to attract fans. It is alleged that he has defrauded more than 5,000 people of more than $93 million.

‘Defaming America’ to Earn Fans

Huang registered a number of social media accounts on platforms such as WeChat and Weibo to spread his anti-America views. His WeChat account “fenghuangshan” had been posting articles daily, sometimes twice a day, until his P2P fraud was exposed by local authorities on May 21.