Users of the Chinese social media app RedNote welcomed "TikTok refugees" from the United States with selfies and messages on Wednesday, as Beijing said it encouraged stronger cultural ties with other countries in response to the sudden influx.

Chinese social media app RedNote has been thrust into the limelight after more than half a million TikTok users recently joined the platform in protest against a likely imminent ban on the short video app in the United States.

With a possible TikTok ban just days away, many U.S. users are looking for alternative social media platforms to help them keep up with pop culture or provide the type of entertaining videos that popularized the short-form video app.

As a possible ban on TikTok in the United States looms, several other Chinese-owned social media apps have gained popularity. Newsweek reached out to TikTok via its website for comment. TikTok will appear before the Supreme Court on Friday in a final attempt to prevent a national ban on the app.