Americans who have joined the Chinese social media platform RedNote in protest of the U.S. government’s looming ban on TikTok have found themselves building new connections across international borders. “I just want to say it’s so amazing to have you here,” one person, who called himself Abe from RedNote, said in a video on the app, imploring the American “TikTok refugees” to stay with it. “For so long, we haven’t really been able to connect or talk with each other like this, but now we finally can and it feels so special. This is such a real chance for us to get to know each other.”  Because of tensions between the Chinese and U.S. governments, their digital ecosystems haven’t often overlapped. Many popular U.S. apps like Instagram are banned in China, and some companies like ByteDance, which owns TikTok, have built separate apps for the Chinese market and other markets because of rules and regulations. But user backlash to the U.S. government’s proposed TikTok ban has led to a flood of Americans signing up for RedNote in the past 24 hours — a development many Chinese users said they thought would never happen. It is impossible to quantify how many TikTok “refugees” have made accounts on RedNote. Still, Chinese users have excitedly welcomed the new American users, whether that’s in Mandarin, English or through the power of memes.  On Monday, as the U.S. Supreme Court appeared to be leaning toward upholding the law banning TikTok starting this Sunday, many people began posting that they would join the China-based Chinese app out of spite. news 6 hours ago TikTok's U.S. operations could be worth as much as $50 billion if ByteDance decides to sell news Jan 13 Instagram head Mosseri says app will prioritize original content, with potential TikTok ban days away The law that banned TikTok was motivated by concerns over ByteDance’s relationship to the Chinese government, and speculation that that relationship could be used to influence Americans or spy on them. The law would allow TikTok to remain in the U.S. following its sale to a U.S. company. However, a sale has yet to happen and experts say it seems unlikely.  Many users going to Rednote — known as Xiaohongshu in China, or XHS and Little Red Book elsewhere — openly mocked U.S. concerns about security. One person posted to TikTok about Rednote, saying: “I’m going to download it on my phone. I’m going to let it track other apps. I’m going to give it permission to see my location and all of my contacts and then I’m just going to let it sit there.” After downloading the app, however, many began to notice that both they and the Chinese user base shared a similar sense of humor. One joke that has begun to circulate on TikTok is that people will “miss my Chinese spy” following a ban. One TikTok video joking about this has been viewed more than 10 million times.  Many Chinese on Rednote welcomed American users to the app playing into the joke.  “Hello, I’m a spy. Please show me your cat,” one Chinese user commented on an American user’s video.  Others shared images of a Chinese statue appearing to carry the Statue of Liberty.  One user joked in a video that he had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time.  “After so many years being yelled, “Go back to China! Go back to your country!” Finally, we get a shot,” the Chinese user said. “Go back to America! Go back to your country! Just kidding.” One resounding joke on the majority Mandarin-speaking app included Chinese users politely asking the new American users for help with their English homework and if the American users would help them practice their English. Additionally, many users asked Americans to subtitle their videos so they could be translated into Mandarin.  “oh so NOW you’re learning mandarin,” joked the language learning platform Duolingo on X.  Additionally, those who were still using RedNote and TikTok warned users that there could be a culture shock in some ways — video that explicitly promote thinness and potentially unhealthy eating habits are common on RedNote because of cultural differences. Some still noted the benefits of having Chinese and Americans able to communicate directly.  In a video shared on RedNote, British user Ethereal Games noted how unusual it was that “everyone has been really nice to each other, which is odd because this is the internet.” He added how he thought this move by American users of RedNote completely undermined the TikTok ban.  “The best part is it’s completely backfired on the U.S. government because American citizens and Chinese citizens are getting along really well. They’re not the scary Chinese enemy anymore,” he said in his video. “They’re sharing cat memes and talking about Taylor Swift.” Toward the end of the second day of Americans inundating RedNote, the tone had remained jovial with people remarking over the good-natured camaraderie of their new social media friends. Many Chinese users posted that they were shocked by how many people were engaging with their content. Some made videos just to reintroduce their pages and encouraged their new American followers to keep using RedNote.  “Hello, friends from TikTok. Welcome to XHS. I’m shocked when I opened this application tonight because I cannot imagine that it will be an international place,” said a 25-year-old Chinese user named Sylvia, who said she was based in Shanghai. “I hope all of you can enjoy the time here, and I promise all of you will love it.” Another Chinese user, who went by DWWWWW, said in a video how wild it was to have Americans on RedNote. In one video, DWWWWW began making “Chinese lessons from your SPY.” In another he shared his disbelief for how many Americans were now following him.  “Hey TikTok ‘refugees,’ I’m so overwhelmed by you guys today,” DWWWWW said in the video. “This is so cool and crazy. I’m posting this to see if this is real. I’m Chinese and you can ask me anything about China.” He also offered one clarification for his new followers: “You might be in the wrong place because here is not the Chinese version of TikTok. Here is the Chinese version of Instagram.” This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News: TikTok pushes users to sister app Lemon8 ahead of potential ban Meta’s pivot to the right sparks boycotts and a user exodus LGBTQ creators brace for Meta’s pro-Trump changes