China’s characterization as the enemy
In the United States, violence and hatred toward China and Chinese people is centuries old. Today, the common fears of economic and anti-democratic threats have spread, normalizing the us-against-them rhetoric of American superiority.
Sinophobia, or anti-Chinese sentiment, is the fear or hatred of China or anything associated with it, including its people, culture and products. Sinophobia reflects the yellow peril racism and xenophobia of the 18th and 19th centuries, depicting East Asians as a threat to the civilized West.
Public opinion of China only proves this narrative. 81% of adults in the U.S. have an unfavorable view of China, with 43% having a very unfavorable opinion. While Republicans, at 89%, are more likely to have an unfavorable opinion of China, still 81% of Democrats feel the same.
Western media fans the flames of this hatred, using loaded language like “infiltrate,” “prey” and “theft” to position China as a force in need of defeating. Frequent narratives of Chinese spies stealing from the U.S. and robbing innocent, hard-working Americans of jobs and deserved economic prosperity result in inevitable hatred toward anything associated with China.
On May 14, President Joe Biden expressed conflicting stances on Chinese foreign relations. “The bottom line is that I want fair competition with China, not conflict,” Biden posted on Instagram. However, he continued to push the frame of opposition, defeating his prior sentiment. “And we’re in a stronger position to win the economic competition of the 21st century against China or anyone else because we’re investing in America again.”
This American idea of triumphing over a country to prove its economic, social and political dominance is not restricted to social media. Pervasive in-group, out-group framing normalizes xenophobic anger.
In his run for Director District 3 seat in the 2023 Pleasant Valley school board elections, Peter Olsen abused the fear of China to push a right-wing agenda. “You need to stop talking about DEI… and we need to start talking about leadership, because our kids are going to go out in the world, they’re going to be competing with a bunch of Chinese students,” said Olsen.
His words again pit China as the ultimate and only threat to the US. The use of “Chinese students” rather than China’s government or policies stereotypes Chinese people as a monolith of anti-Western nationalists who occupy the jobs of “rightfully deserving” Americans.
The themes of this insensitive rhetoric also alienate PV’s own Chinese and minority students. “After being brainwashed by Western media during the COVID-19 pandemic to hate my people, culture and country, going back made me realize how simplified the perception of China is in the eyes of the West,” junior Sherry Tang shared. “The unique and interesting foods I tried, the beautiful Chinese architecture I saw, the liveliness of nights even in small cities – these intricate and fun parts of China never get talked about because that would take too much effort and empathy.”
Shifting Western perspectives of East Asia
In recent years, growing fascination with Korea and Japan has only continued to reveal this bias. Today, 69% of Americans feel the US relationship with South Korea strengthens US national security. 77% say the US-Japan security relationship strengthens national security.
When it comes to China’s relationship with the US though, only 6% view China as a partner. Rather, 50% of Americans label it a competitor and 42% call it an enemy. These views are strongly bipartisan as well.
In a divided country, a mutual enemy may be the most two sides can agree on. “Korea and Japan are more ‘democratized’ than China in the eyes of the West,” explained Tang. “China – just by existing – is sort of a stain on the ‘democracy is the best thing ever’ narrative,” she continued.
Western aversion to China and Chinese culture has resulted in an unwillingness to acknowledge anything the country has to offer. C-dramas, C-beauty and C-pop, for example, aren’t afforded nearly as much attention as their Korean or Japanese counterparts.
Chinese American content creator @amazingishgrace shared her experience with hostility toward Chinese products on a trip to the country. “I didn’t really bother with the content. I’m not going to film a China clothing haul because I know the connotation is immediately different from a Japan clothing haul,” she said. Influencers understand that sharing lighthearted travel content and positive experiences in the country will only incur backlash for claims of unethical behavior or support for the country’s communist party.
Japan and Korea, however, are experiencing booms in tourism. Spending by international tourists in Japan recently exceeded previous revenue records by 16% while Korean visitor spending has shot up over 32% compared to 2023.
Even when Chinese styles, such as Douyin makeup, trend on social media, influencers misattribute the looks as K or J-beauty. Some do so to purposefully increase the palatability of their content, but even unintentional errors erase the work and voice of Chinese creators.
Similarly, the recent and ongoing virality of Tanghulu, a Chinese candied fruit dessert, has sparked controversy. Content creators have mislabeled the street food as Korean and used #korean or #japanese in their short-form video captions, exacerbating the problem by prompting the videos to appear when users search for Japanese and Korean foods.
Even the San Francisco Chronicle published the headline “Korea’s candied fruit craze has reached the Bay Area.” While Korean and other Asian media typically credit the correct country of origin, there is a trend of miscategorization in the hands of the West.
Aside from marketing and miscategorization, there is also the increasingly widespread narrative that Chinese people lack the creativity to start these trends. In the US, 29% of adults categorize Chinese entertainment and media as below average or the worst compared to other countries. Only 30% consider it average, and a mere 14% regard it as above average or the best.
Because of the unwillingness to explore media and products labeled as Chinese, some Chinese companies have resorted to rebranding. While misleading, these companies know writing in Japanese characters, using Japanese art styles or mimicking other aspects of the country’s culture will perform far superior to embracing a Chinese brand identity.
Popular Chinese store Miniso mimics Japanese designs, selling cute stationary, plushies, home items, IP merchandise and more. The store has been criticized for its seemingly Japanese appearance, with Google’s first suggested search under Miniso being “Is Miniso a Japanese or Chinese company?”
Many mistake the business to be affiliated with similar Japanese brand Daiso, which sells a similar range of items. Miniso’s square red logo also bears obvious similarities to Uniqlo, a Japanese clothing brand, with some calling it a deceptive copycat.
Similar marketing strategies went into the action-adventure video game “Genshin Impact”, which uses anime-style characters. In the year after its release in 2020, it generated $2 billion, setting a record for mobile games. Not only was it China’s first truly viral game, but its audience was largely international.
Moving toward change
Despite struggles to normalize Chinese culture, those who are willing to give the food, media, tourism industry and more a try can break from their previous perceptions of the country.
Over the summer, Pleasant Valley alum and current University of Iowa student Leila Assadi traveled to the cities of Fuzhou and Nanjing. “In my experience there, it was the safest and most welcome I’ve felt in another country. Many Chinese people were curious to talk to me about my experiences in China, why I was in the country and what cities I was visiting—overall being extremely open, kind and welcoming,” Assadi shared.
Chinese TV shows, movies and video games have garnered domestic popularity, and some are slowly beginning to become more mainstream in Western pop culture. As viewership increases, so will the recognition of Chinese people as able to produce highly artistic, original media.
While K-dramas are still more popular and widely available, streaming platforms provide Mandarin movies, TV dramas and comedies.
“For me, the Chinese show called “The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation” is a great example of how when foreign audiences can find the right media, they can learn to throw away their biases about Chinese entertainment,” said Tang. “The men even have traditional hairstyles that go down to the floor, yet foreign audiences loved this show. I even managed to convince a friend of mine who had no interest in Chinese media to watch it and they now love the franchise more than I do.”
The Western perception of China is often one of conformity and government allegiance. While political and economic tensions have formed a taboo around doing anything that appears to support the country, they are no excuse for blatant condemnation of Chinese content. Such stereotyping diminishes the impact of China’s rich history and new creatives, perpetuating a hostile and dismissive attitude.
