This Chinese shopping app just got caught in the middle of a trade war
Called DHgate, it shot up 940% on the U.S. App Store overnight and even topped shopping charts in the UK.
I was casually scrolling through TikTok the other day when I noticed something strange. My For You page (FYP) had turned into a mini-marketplace—but not the usual kind. Chinese factory workers, jewelry makers, and electronics sellers kept popping up, explaining how I could order “the same thing top brands sell” directly from China using an app called DHgate.
At first, I thought it was just another TikTok trend. Then I checked the App Store.
As of this week, DHgate is now the No. 3 most-downloaded free iPhone app in the U.S.—up from No. 352 just days ago (via Appfigures). On April 13 alone, the app saw a 940% spike in U.S. downloads, with 65,100 installs in a single day. That same weekend, it also topped shopping app charts in the UK, overtaking Temu and Vinted.
So, what is DHgate?
Well, it’s a Chinese wholesale marketplace that’s been around since 2004—connecting merchants in China to buyers around the world who are looking for factory-level prices for electronics, home goods, shoes, and even jewelry. Think of it as a more direct version of Temu or AliExpress, but with a “dupe culture” twist.
The timing of its surge is no coincidence. It comes days after Trump imposed a 145% tariff on Chinese imports, with China retaliating at 125%. Right after, TikTok was flooded with videos showing off the Chinese supply chain—a trend now dubbed “Trade War TikTok.”
DHgate, which offers over 40 million products from more than a million Chinese suppliers, is clearly benefiting from the attention. But contrary to what some videos suggest, using the app won’t help you dodge tariffs. As Techloy notes, most Chinese imports to the U.S. are still subject to the new taxes, except in a few categories like electronics—and even those could change.
Plus, we’ve seen this kind of spike before. Earlier this year, a random social journaling app called RedNote (aka Xiaohongshu) shot to No. 1 on the U.S. App Store after the TikTok ban chatter intensified. People thought it might be the next big thing, but it quickly fell off.
So, will DHgate stick around? Hard to say. But for now, it's given us a window into how e-commerce, geopolitics, and TikTok culture are colliding in real time.
Emmanuel Oyedeji
