As far as I'm concerned it was never racist. It was Chinese internet users looking at a picture of Xi and Obama at a summit and compared them in stature, aptly I might add, to Winnie and Tigger. It never stuck with Obama and Xi evidently took it with no sense of humor.

Outside of China the majority of people will not be aware of this meme or have forgotten all about it.

It's not racist. It's just what Chinese people started meming Xi years ago and the CCP government overreacted. Simple as that. Its what happens when an authoritarian leader gets flustered about their image.

It literally was started by Chinese people in China as an insult to Xi specifically. It isn't racist, it isn't applied to all Chinese people, it isn't even "because Pooh is yellow." People saying it is racist are just looking for a way to shut down criticisms of Xi, and crying "that's racist" often bypasses people's critical thinking abilities and makes them just capitulate because "well I don't want to be seen as racist and I'm not the race in question so I don't have the authority to decide if it is or isn't."

Could it be used in a racist way by some racist person who doesn't understand the context? Sure. Does that mean "the act of making fun of a specific despotic dictator by using a children's character he happens to resemble" is racist? No.

It's not racist, it's specifically about Xi. Though the .ml people are the same people that claim not loving the CCP is racist. As if a political party or government also represents an ethnicity.

just need a double check from the more reasonable parts of the internet

So where are you asking then?

Originally it was just netizens comparing Xi to Pooh because they thought it was cute. But Xi has no sense of humor and banned the comparison. Now people use it to annoy CCP sympathizers. It's not racist at all, the original intention of the comparison was good willed and innocent.

I'm Chinese. They've accused me of being racist against my own race for things like Xinnie the Pooh. .ml is a joke.

among friends and acquaintances from Asia (incl. Taiwan & China), WtP has been a symbol of resistance against Xi Jin Ping and authoritarianism in China.

You answered your own question. Don't let them get under your skin. But to further validate you:

The comparison is about appearances to Xi, specifically. No one is saying the people of China look like Winnie the Pooh, and no one is using Winnie the Pooh in propaganda designed to oppress the people of China.

Tankie's scream "racism" at Winnie the Pooh, exactly the same way MAGA's scream "racism' at DEI. They do not know, nor care, what the word actually means, and are using it to further their agenda by taking a position they can fallacious argue is morally superior. It is fake pearl clutching and moral grandstanding to justify nationalist fascism.

They're literally Chinese MAGA. Unfortunately, MACA MCGA doesn't roll off the tongue as well as "tankie."

I could see the yellow fur of Winnie the Pooh being viewed as a reference to Asian people being “yellow” skinned.

However, the likeness of Winnie the Pooh and Xi Jin Ping are so similar in some of the pictures I have seen that I think it’s a more innocent making fun of and not a racism making fun of.

Anything opposing the government of China is an anathema to them, since apparently they love capitalist oligarchies.

Not sure about the origins of the winnie the pooh thing, but .ml thinks everything anti-CCP is racist.

Like literally, they don't even want the diaspora criticizing the regime. Lmfao their false accusations of racism doesn't work on me.

.ml are a bunch of alt-MAGA authoritarian bootlickers. They’re looking for any excuse to press down on the anti-dictatorship agenda.

If .ml thinks something is bad, chances are it's probably the opposite.

Look at all the BlueMAGA in the comments full of arrogant hubris. They've drank the entire jug of US propaganda and believe that they are immune to it