Xiamen, China - Artist Hong Jinshi has gone viral for selling his porcelain statue version of US President-elect Donald Trump.

The viral statues show Trump sitting with his eyes closed. Wearing a monk-like robe, he has his legs crossed and is meditating in a way that is reminiscent of the Buddha.

Carved in rural China, these Trump-Buddha statues have become a huge success story for Hong, who sells each model for anywhere between $140 and $2,700 depending on its size.

Hong claims that he has sold hundreds of the statues, in various sizes, with a significant jump in popularity coming after Trump won the 2024 presidential election in November.

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Speaking to the AFP about his meme-worthy Trump-Buddha statues, Hong Jinshi explained that they had first gone viral in 2021 before taking off again ahead of Trump's second inauguration.

"In the days after he won the election there was a lot of interest," said Hong, who admitted that he'd originally designed the statues as a joke.

"Politicians are normally so boring, while [Trump] is this massive online figure who often says fantastical things," he explained.

Hong has long believed in making fun of the rich and powerful and, despite his understated look, makes quite a few tongue-in-cheek renditions of world leaders.

One statue showed Elon Musk in the style of a Marvel superhero, complete with a suit of armor and a spaceship in place of a groin.

"It's a good laugh to poke some fun at authority figures and famous people," Hong said.

"I still think he's just as funny," Hong said in reference to Trump. "Every day there's interesting news when he's president."