US YouTuber Darren Watkins Jr., better known as 'IShowSpeed', is seen during a boat trip in Hong Kong, China, on April 4, 2025. — Reuters
American streamer IShowSpeed’s visit to China has sparked widespread curiosity among fans about cutting-edge advancements in Chinese technology, as products from Huawei Technologies Co and BYD Co are put in the spotlight.
IShowSpeed, whose real name is Darren Watkins Jr, live-streams regularly to his 38.4 million YouTube subscribers, often for hours at a time. Known for his comedic and dramatic personality, the 20-year-old streamer shares unique and daredevil experiences while traveling around the world, often surrounded by fans and onlookers.
As the world’s second-largest economy draws the ire of US President Donald Trump, Watkins’ most recent trip to China – with highly anticipated visits to cities including Shenzhen, Chongqing and Shanghai – made him an unlikely ambassador for the Asian nation.
His unscripted manner appears authentic and relatable, helping to build trust among his audience that he’s genuinely wowed by the technology, said Barbara Duffek, assistant professor of marketing at Georgia State University. "It’s better than any official, scripted endorsement.”
In an almost six-hour livestream that was viewed 8 million times, Watkins rode a BYD Yangwang U8 luxury SUV that can float in water, screaming in fear at first as the vehicle was driven into a river.
"Oh my god, this car is not sinking, and we are in the car! China got it, these Chinese cars got it bro,” he shouted later while filming himself perching over the vehicle through its sunroof.
Later in the same stream, Watkins visited a Huawei store in Shenzhen and bought three Huawei Mate XTs, the world’s first commercial device that can fold twice from a tablet to a smartphone. The store was filled with dozens of onlookers staring and recording him, then cheering as he made the purchases.
The YouTuber, who’s often called Speed, remarked how expensive the gadget is, which he bought for 20,000 yuan (RM12,080 or US$2,720) apiece, but praised its thinness and front camera.
"Yo nobody got these in the world, these only made in China? I’m about to bring these (expletive) back to America,” he said in awe as he tested various models. "It’s a gaming PC in a phone format.”
‘Another level’
Viewers online have commented on how Chinese technology is on "another level” and underrated, with some remarking how backward the US seems to be.
"The Western media made me dislike China. Speed opened my eyes to the truth. Now I hope to visit China in the future,” a comment on a video of Watkins doing a backflip in sync with a humanoid robot read.
US consumers seem keen on getting a hold of the gadgets themselves, even though Huawei has been hit by a series of US sanctions amid national security concerns, while BYD currently doesn’t sell passenger cars in the US due to the high levies imposed on made-in-China automobiles and a ban on smart driving EV technology.
Other videos show Watkins riding a flying car and showcasing a Yangwang U9 electric supercar, gawking that it could "dance by itself” as he controlled the vehicle’s movements with a mobile phone while dancing alongside it.
The YouTube star’s visit has been well-received by the Chinese embassy in the US, which said in an X post last month that his journey has garnered massive global attention with broader trends of digital influencers bridging cultural gaps. Broadcaster CCTV-13 aired an eight-minute special on his tour, praising that he "presents a multidimensional China with authentic footage”.
Others questioned if his videos were propaganda for the nation and whether he would be "spied on” with the Huawei phones.
Watkins’ China trip will add fuel to the ongoing curiosity and demand for the country’s products, Robert Kozinets, a University of Southern California marketing professor, said in an email. "The idea that you can ban these things only creates desire, a forbidden fruit syndrome that history has shown increases demand.” – Bloomberg
