With Chinese-Australian Votes in Play, Politicians Turn to Xiaohongshu to Win Key Marginal Seats

SYDNEY, April 5 — When Labor’s Jerome Laxale secured the Sydney seat of Bennelong in the 2022 federal election, Chinese-Australian voters—frustrated with then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s strained ties with Beijing—played a crucial role in his narrow victory.

Now, with another closely contested election looming, Laxale and other politicians are turning to platforms like Xiaohongshu, a Chinese lifestyle app also known as RedNote, to connect with Chinese communities who could once again determine the outcome in marginal electorates.

“To engage with your electorate, you have to be where they are—and some are on Xiaohongshu,” said Laxale, who has distributed 30,000 red envelopes containing QR codes linking to his profiles on Xiaohongshu and WeChat.

“Labor has only ever won Bennelong twice. We’ve never managed to hold it. If the people of Bennelong choose me again, it’ll be historic,” he added. Laxale won the seat in 2022 by just a 1 per cent margin.

With the May 3 election fast approaching and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese battling declining approval ratings, holding onto seats like Bennelong will be essential for Labor.

Opposition Courts Chinese Vote Amid Past Fallout

Opposition leader Peter Dutton is also actively courting Chinese-Australian voters—many of whom turned away from the Liberal-led Coalition in 2022 due to Morrison’s tough stance on China during the pandemic.

Labor has since worked to repair bilateral ties, with trade restrictions on A$20 billion (RM55.2 billion) worth of Australian goods now lifted. Still, with economic pressures such as high living costs and slow growth weighing on voters, that alone may not be enough to guarantee support for Albanese.

A Strategic Swing in Chinese-Majority Seats

Dutton launched his unofficial campaign in Chisholm, Victoria—the federal seat with the highest proportion of Chinese ancestry at 28.9 per cent. Bennelong follows closely behind.

A Liberal Party post-mortem of its 2022 defeat highlighted the importance of rebuilding trust with Chinese communities. The party saw a 6.6 per cent swing against it in the top 15 electorates with high Chinese-Australian populations—almost double the 3.7 per cent swing seen in other areas. Most of these seats are now marginal, won with a margin of 6 per cent or less.

“Dutton has made a genuine effort to show these communities that the Liberal Party shares their values,” said Tony Barry, director at polling firm Redbridge. “He’s definitely improved the party’s standing with them since the last election—but whether it’s enough remains to be seen.”

Xiaohongshu Gains Political Traction

Australian politicians have long used Chinese platforms like WeChat for outreach, but Xiaohongshu—popular for lifestyle content and product reviews—is now emerging as a key tool.

A Reuters review found at least 21 Australian politicians on Xiaohongshu, some with thousands of followers. Liberal MP Keith Wolahan, who represents the Victorian seat of Menzies, has nearly 7,800 followers on the app—far exceeding his numbers on X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok.

One reason for the app’s popularity: Xiaohongshu is not banned on government devices, unlike TikTok or AI app DeepSeek. Despite ongoing security concerns, MPs told Reuters they avoid using the app on official devices.

Xiaohongshu itself appears to restrict political content—searches for Australian politicians yield limited results, and posts are not promoted to users who don’t already follow them. The company did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

“Even if you’re just posting a video of yourself in Chinatown, the platform may limit political content due to sensitivity concerns,” said Professor Wanning Sun from the University of Technology Sydney.

That’s why politicians like Laxale are sharing QR codes via physical means, such as red envelopes distributed during Lunar New Year festivities, to drive traffic to their profiles.

Shared Concerns, Common Goals

Like most Australians, Chinese-Australian voters are looking for strong leadership on key issues: the cost of living, rising interest rates, and the housing crisis.

Labor hopes credit for restoring Australia-China relations will win them favour, while the Liberals—who have softened their once hardline stance—are promoting pro-business policies and support for small enterprises.

“There’s a higher rate of small business ownership among Chinese-Australians, and they’ve felt the sting of high interest rates, inflation, and in Victoria, higher taxes,” said Wolahan.

Frank Guo, a mortgage broker in Bennelong, voted Labor in 2022 for the first time since becoming an Australian citizen in 2010, driven by dissatisfaction with the Liberals' anti-China rhetoric.

This time, though, his vote may swing back. “I’ll probably vote for the Liberals,” Guo said. “At the end of the day, they represent the interests of people like me.” — Reuters