Digital Hosts and Cultural Mediators: Chinese Netizens’ Intercultural Identity Construction in Encounters With “TikTok Refugees”1 on RedNote

ABSTRACT While identity construction on social media has been extensively studied, its construction in intercultural contexts and its relationship with intercultural communicative competence (ICC) remain underexplored. This study addresses this research gap by examining how Chinese netizens construct intercultural identities in their engagement with “TikTok refugees” on RedNote, a large‐scale cross‐cultural encounter triggered by the anticipated U.S. ban on the platform. Drawing on 300 comments collected from RedNote, this study employs discourse‐centred online ethnography and content analysis to analyze Chinese netizens’ responses to international social media posts through the lens of the ICC model and translanguaging, investigating how intercultural communicative strategies (ICS) shape the construction of multifaceted digital identities. The findings reveal that Chinese netizens strategically deploy multilingual, multimodal, and multisemiotic resources to construct multiple complementary identities: enthusiastic locals offering welcome and guidance; translocal citizens bridging linguistic and cultural gaps; friends and mediators navigating global‐local tensions; and cyber governors protecting collective interests. In sum, Chinese netizens emerge as digital hosts and cultural mediators in their online self‐presentation, leveraging digital platforms to interpret and showcase their native culture; and, on the other hand, navigating between multiple cultural discourses, aiming to bridge cultural chasms and facilitate mutual understanding. These identities reflect high ICC across four dimensions: attitudes, knowledge, skills, and awareness. Contrary to some prior portrayals of online Chinese youth as individualistic or apolitical, our findings suggest that Chinese netizens exhibit a sophisticated calibration between global engagement and local positioning. Ultimately, the study offers insights into identity construction in virtual intercultural communication and explores the role of ICC in shaping digital identity work.