Kill Line
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Kill Line[1][2] or Death Line[3] (Chinese: 斩杀线) is a Chinese Internet slang describing poverty in the United States in the Internet in China. It expresses a notion that once a person in the United States encounter financial hardship, they would be unable to recover, ultimately becoming homeless, dying on the streets. Some commentators, however, argue that the term simply describes a universal modern phenomenon or the term is simply a narrative tool to deflect poverty in China.
Background
[edit]The term "Kill Line" originates from RPG and MOBA games, describing the situation in which a player can be killed by one shot once the line is crossed.[1][4] It is useful to predict kill opportunities and plan tactical decisions.[5]
In 2025, Squid King (斯奎奇大王, nicknamed Alex or Lao-A, 牢A), a Bilibili user, uploaded a five-hour video about his observation of streets in the United States. It shows that the middle and working classes could not save money due to the high everyday expenses. They would face trouble in unexpected situations, such as borrowing money to live, and become homeless when they failed to pay. The video also depicts street children asking for food on cold days, delivery workers who were hungry because of low wages, and injured labourers who could not afford to go to the hospital are barred from it.[1][6][7]
Squid King blamed the situation he faced on credit scoring system and Freedom of Information Act, stating that people will live in misery when they fail to maintain a credit score. He described the financial status of most middle class in the United States as "weak" and the situation as a "kill Line".[7][8]
Reaction from China
[edit]The "kill line" in the United States reveals a cold-blooded logic of "capital-first". Under the logic, the system puts security and returns of capital over the survival and dignity of workers. This means that when any individual faces economic dysfunction, the system would consider securing capital over the people and would even sacrifice people if needed. This is why any reform strengthening the safety net or wealth distribution would face difficulties when it touches upon the interest structure. [note 1]
"Kill Line" has gained discussion on the Internet in China.[7][10] Guancha suggested that the ALICE line is similar to what is called the "kill line" in China.[11]
Media outlets in China and Chinese netizens expressed that the "kill Line" reflects the failures of capitalism in the United States. The Farmers' Daily pointed safety net policies in China, such as battle against poverty, describing them as "comprehensive". It concludes that the kill line highlights the "advantage" of socialism with Chinese characteristics over the United States.[12] Wang Zhe (王哲), reseacher of China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said the kill line reflects the infiltration of Social Darwinism in the United States, while Xinhua News Agency concluded that kill line revealed failures in the American social safety net and the abandonment of right to development.[13]
Media coverage of the kill line also echoes social issues in China among Chinese netizens, such as the "Curse of 35", "zero-covid policy in China", and the "red line shuts the people".[14][7] Some also cite the recent arrest of Zhang Youxia and described it as the "kill line of power struggle".[15] A BBC News report on 2 February, 2026, noted that some Chinese netizens discuss the kill line in the United States when discussing social issues in China; the report described the phenomenon as "Call Me by Your Name".[7]
Reaction from the United States
[edit]The depiction of the United States as a place where economic hardship is deep and widespread has been a go-to of official Chinese messaging for years. But the use of the “kill line” phrasing and imagery is new. The power is in the simplicity of what it describes: an abrupt threshold where misery begins and a happy life is irreversibly lost. The narrative is meant to offer China’s people emotional relief while attempting to deflect criticism of its leaders.
On 26 December 2025, Newsweek reported the virality of the "Kill Line" in China. Aside from citing a PNC Bank report, Newsweek also noticed that Chinese state media characterised capitalism in the United States as "chaotic and brutal".[3] An article on The New York Times published on 13 January 2026 described the virality as "obsessive", calling it a "formula" of deflecting domestic issues by magnifying foreign suffering. The news said that the Chinese government used the narrative to deflect local concerns about local economic insecurity.[1]
During a public event of the World Economic Forum on 20 January 2026, Scott Bessent, then United States Secretary of the Treasury, was asked by Yuyuan Tantian, a social media account affiliated with the China Central Television, whether a "Kill Line" existed in the United States. Bessent replied that he did not understand the question, but said that the government was working to lower inflation under the Biden administration and mentioned tax cuts under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Lianhe Zaobao quoted a tax expert who said that the tax cut under the OBBBA act could do little to address the kill line since people with low-income would not benefit from these policies.[16]
Other reactions
[edit]A column in Lianhe Zaobao commented that many commentators in China seized on the kill line trend to argue that the Chinese system is far better than the American one. Aside from challenging the trend, the column also quoted Wang Jiangyu, a professor of City University of Hong Kong, who said the kill line exists everywhere, including China, where a serious illness can trap a family in poverty from which they can never escape.[17]
In a Radio Taiwan International column, Lee observed that an ordinary Chinese person could become nothing if they faced serious trouble, such as falling ill, being in an accident, or experiencing a disaster. They have to return to their hometown or borrow money when they find themselves in such a situation. He suggested that the "Kill Line" in China is crueller than the one in the United States.[18] On 20 January 2026, Hsu Chuan, a commentator living in Taiwan, observed that while the "Kill Line" sounds like a neologism, it actually describes problems people have been discussing for decades.[19]
Financial Times and The Economist also comment on the kill line; The Economist argues that American harshness is "easier to talk (about)" than Chinese malaise.[20][2]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ “斩杀线”现象所揭示的，是一种冷酷的“资本优先”制度逻辑：在这一逻辑下，制度安排系统性地将资本安全与增值回报，置于劳动者生存保障与尊严之前。这导致当个体因遭遇风险而经济失能时，体系优先考量的是如何隔离金融风险、保全资本价值，而非为民众提供足以恢复和缓冲的实质性支持，甚至不惜以部分社会成员的牺牲为代价。正因如此，任何试图加固社会安全网、优化财富分配的真改革，一旦触动这一根本利益结构，便必然举步维艰。
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e 袁莉 (2026-01-13). "中国宣传机器为何炒作美国"斩杀线"". 纽约时报中文网 (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 2026-01-25. Retrieved 2026-01-20.
- ^ a b "China obsesses over America's "kill line"". The Economist. 2026-01-12. Retrieved 2026-01-21.
- ^ a b "America's "death line" goes viral in China". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 2026-01-12. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
- ^ "增长幻象下的民生之困——解析美国"斩杀线"的成因链". 央视新闻. 2026-01-18. Archived from the original on 2026-01-18. Retrieved 2026-01-20.
- ^ 动作游戏ACT (2019-08-05). "《DNF》斩杀线是什么意思？斩杀线机制介绍" (in Chinese (China)). Archived from the original on 2025-12-28. Retrieved 2025-12-25.
- ^ 斯奎奇大王. "真实美国：建筑工人之死_哔哩哔哩_bilibili". www.bilibili.com (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 2026-01-03. Retrieved 2025-12-25.
- ^ a b c d e "「斬殺線」討論：中國民眾質疑並非美國獨有". BBC News 中文 (in Traditional Chinese). 2026-02-02. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
- ^ 红星新闻. "美国体面人的"斩杀线"，美人类学博士称之为"努力工作却无家可归"". 凤凰网. Archived from the original on 2025-12-28. Retrieved 2025-12-26.
- ^ 钟言 (2026-01-04). ""斩杀线"上的美国政治困局". 求是网. Archived from the original on 2026-01-05. Retrieved 2026-01-05.
- ^ 秋白. "美国"斩杀线"真的存在！年薪45万美元程序员半年变流浪汉". 快科技. Retrieved 2026-02-06.
- ^ "美媒也坐不住了："斩杀线"存在，且仍在被抬高". 澎湃新闻 (in Chinese). 2025-12-27. Retrieved 2026-02-06.
- ^ 农民日报. "中国为什么没有美国的"斩杀线"？". 澎湃新闻. Archived from the original on 2025-12-27. Retrieved 2025-12-26.
- ^ "国际观察丨"斩杀线"折射美国制度弊端下的脆弱民生". Archived from the original on 2026-01-18. Retrieved 2026-01-20.
- ^ "長平觀察：從「美國斬殺線」到中國「死了麼」". dw.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 2026-02-04.
- ^ "張又俠觸碰到習「權鬥斬殺線」? 外媒給習這「新稱號」「他」的崛起受矚目..." Newtalk新聞 (in Chinese). 2026-02-04. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
- ^ "美财长：拜登执政下低收入家庭开销大涨". www.zaobao.com.sg (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 2026-01-21. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
- ^ "下午察："美国斩杀线"，中国赢麻了？". 联合早报 (in Chinese). 2025-12-26. Archived from the original on 2026-01-16. Retrieved 2025-12-28.
- ^ "別盯著美國，中國才是「斬殺線」鼻祖 - Rti央廣". Rti 中央廣播電臺 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 2026-02-04.
- ^ "【东谈西论】"斩杀线"走入大众视野是中国官方对"躺卷润"的回击？". 联合早报. 2026-01-20.
- ^ "Alice线是斩杀线吗？". FT中文网. Archived from the original on 2026-01-12. Retrieved 2026-01-20.