When Americans fear China,
what are they really afraid of?
* Chi Wang says American paranoia about China is shaped by China
hawks’ narrow views. It is unfortunate that the average American has
learnt to be suspicious of the Chinese government, but has no
awareness of the average Chinese
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 19 December, 2018, 3:03am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 19 December, 2018, 3:39am
https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2178545/when-americans-fear-china-what-are-they-really
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Chi Wang <https://www.scmp.com/author/chi-wang>
Chi Wang <https://www.scmp.com/author/chi-wang>
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Today, it appears thatUS-China relations
<https://www.scmp.com/topics/china-us-relations>are at their lowest
point in decades, and that perception on both sides is clouded by
misunderstanding andparanoia
<https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/2165704/caught-crossfire-chinese-americans-feel-heat-tensions-flare>.
In such an environment, how young Americans are taught Chinese history
and culture is incredibly important.
OPINION
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I have lived in the United States for 70 years, and taught history at
Georgetown University for more than 60 years before retiring in 2016.
When I taught, I was careful in selecting books from both Western and
Chinese scholars for my students, in the hope that they would be able to
form their own opinions about China.
ADVERTISEMENT
Today, students of China studies in America are taught with a narrowing
list of largely American-authored textbooks. In the US, it is becoming
more difficult for China experts to voice opinions about China that
contradict the government’s and media’s anti-China perceptions. All this
may have dire implications for US-China policy for decades to come.
Across the US, a new generation is being introduced to Chinese history
through American-authored texts likeJonathan D. Spence’s
<https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1284048/luck-would-have-it>/The
Search for Modern China
<https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1284048/luck-would-have-it>/,
while important works by Chinese historians of the 20th century, such as
Immanuel C.Y. Hsu’s/The Rise of Modern China/, Ray Huang’s/China: A
Macro History/and Li Dun Jen’s/The Ageless Chinese: A History/(1970) are
largely ignored. The overreliance on American scholarship gives students
a one-sided understanding of China. This is why in Chinese universities,
students of American history are taught with both Chinese and American
textbooks.
There are other dangers in overreliance on any one text. If a generation
of American China scholars learns Chinese history from the same book,
there is sure to be a certain degree of monotony in ideas about China.
For a book as innocuous as/The Search for Modern China/, this may not be
an issue.
But consider the impact if an entire generation reads a book like
Michael Pillsbury’s/The Hundred-Year Marathon: China’s Secret Strategy
to Replace America as the Global Superpower/. Pillsbury is known for
hisconservative views about China
<https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/2170086/us-law-enforcers-must-halt-chinas-influence-campaign-says-key>.
Many analysts believe that Pillsbury’s controversial book has
beencritical in shaping the perception of China
<https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/2168686/are-us-hawks-talking-tough-china-because-book>among
the Trump administration, to which Pillsbury is now an adviser.
Vice-President Mike Pence’sOctober critique of China
<https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/2167050/us-vice-president-mike-pence-increases-jabs-china-says-it-wants>strongly
echoed Pillsbury’s sentiments.
The current administration is also reliant onChina hawks like Peter
Navarro
<https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/2175704/us-trade-hawk-navarro-back-trump-xi-dinner-guest-list>.
Navarro’s China scholarship consists of provocative titles more fitting
for soap operas than academia:/Death by China: Confronting the Dragon –
A Global Call to Action/and/The Coming China Wars: Where They Will be
Fought and How They Can be Won/.
Amid the sea of China hawks in the US, I find myself looking in vain for
the next generation’sJohn K. Fairbank
<https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2047376/indias-china-policy-target-says-modis-mandarin-speaking-guided>,
L. Carrington Goodrich, or A. Doak Barnett – China scholars who entered
the profession out of a passion for China, not hatred. In the current
climate in the US, there appears to be little room for those with
neutral or positive views of China.
Susan Thornton
<https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/diplomacy/article/2153265/top-us-diplomat-asia-susan-thornton-retire-amid-north-korea-and>,
who was acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific
affairs, is one of the most informed China experts to ever hold the
position. She ultimately left when it became clear that the
administration would not approve her appointment.
Americans are afraid of China. This much is evident from the success of
President Donald Trump’s tough-on-China campaign platform, a strategy he
has pursued through thetrade war
<https://www.scmp.com/business/commodities/article/2178059/iowa-soybean-farmers-president-started-trade-war-his-biggest>and
his insistence that China should redress its unfair trade practices and
intellectual property theft.
Before the trade war: how America wooed 18th-century China
<https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2178327/us-china-trade-war-how-america-wooed-qing-dynasty-ginseng>
But American fear of China goes beyond the economic to the military and
strategic realms. Hardly a day goes by in the US without a pundit on
cable news referring to the US-China relationship as “the next cold war”.
But what is lost in the discourse on China in the US is a proper
articulation of what exactly there is to be afraid or suspicious of.
Instead of “Americans are afraid of China”, what should really be said
is “Americans are afraid of China’s government”. They are afraid of the
implications of anaggressive leader like Xi Jinping building a Mao-like
cult around his personality
<https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2158949/xi-jinpings-former-cave-home-sent-down-youth-should>.
They are suspicious of a government that makes a habit of bullying
American businesses through espionage and intellectual property theft.
The average American has no awareness of, nor exposure to, the average
Chinese. Instead, Americans see 1.4 billion Chinese people and the
handful of Chinese leaders as one and the same.
Therein lies the true tragedy of the tension in US-China relations, and
the dominance of the China hawks in academia, the White House and
Congress. Regardless of the current leaders or policies, the US and
China will have to coexist for decades to come.
The American and Chinese peoples – in particular, the younger
generations – will see the end of the Trump and likely even the Xi
administrations,constitutional amendment
<https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2135825/party-gives-its-version-how-xi-jinpings-plan-change>notwithstanding.
Yet the American and Chinese peoples are becoming less informed about
each other as their governments continue to limit means of engagement,
while academia and the media focus on the negative facets of the
relationship instead of cooperation and opportunity.
Why privacy is an alien concept in Chinese culture
<https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/2139946/why-privacy-alien-concept-chinese-culture>
I find the recent dominance of hawkish views about China in the US
disappointing. Academia and the media should prioritise conveying
knowledge and understanding, not fear and mistrust. Diplomacy requires
effective communication between two sides, and the ability to understand
the other side’s culture, history and language.
This is why it is important to encourage young people to study China
with an open mind, instead of through a narrow, hawkish lens. As
US-China relations continue to deteriorate, we can only hope China hawks
will not set the US on a path of no return. A renewed commitment to
understanding and engagement could help put the relationship on a more
positive, mutually beneficial course.
*Chi Wang, a former head of the Chinese section of the US Library of
Congress and former university librarian at the Chinese University of
Hong Kong, is president of the US-China Policy Foundation*
Chi Wang <https://www.scmp.com/author/chi-wang>
More articles by
Chi Wang <https://www.scmp.com/author/chi-wang>
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<https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2175235/xinjiang-bill-shows-china-bashing-isnt-just>
In Washington, China-bashing isn’t just for hawks any more
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28 Nov 2018 - 2:39am46
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A decorative plate featuring an image of Chinese President Xi Jinping is
seen behind a statue of late communist leader Mao Zedong at a souvenir
store next to Tiananmen Square in Beijing on February 27, 2018. The cult
of personality surrounding Xi has been compared to that of Mao. Photo:
AFP
<https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2172474/why-xi-jinping-should-learn-chiang-kai-shek>
Why Xi should learn from Chiang Kai-shek, not Mao
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10 Nov 2018 - 6:51pm49
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Illustration: Craig Stephens
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For Chinese immigrants, the American dream is over
<https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2168886/no-longer-welcome-how-under-trump-american>
18 Oct 2018 - 10:39am257
<https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2168886/no-longer-welcome-how-under-trump-american#comments>
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