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Opinion | The US needs to better understand China’s culture and politics, for the sake of peace
- What makes China different should be studied, not dismissed. As Asia’s rise throws up more non-Western sensibilities, talking to, rather than past, each other will be increasingly important
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China and the United States are talking past each other, causing tensions and disruptions that may lead not only to economic decoupling but also military conflict. No one should wish to see that happen.
Sino-US relations have had their ups and downs since the normalisation of diplomatic ties in 1979 and things have been patched over with years of hard work and negotiations, where each side sought to protect or optimise their interests.
In the recent altercations, the US narrative about China has extended beyond trade, technology, espionage and intellectual property to attacks on the Chinese political system, raising the dangerous spectre that America wants to promote regime change in China.
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The Chinese response has been to demand that the US stop bullying China, stop its interventionist inclination to mess with the domestic politics of other countries, and to calm relations through talks by seeking areas of collaboration even in difficult times.
Meanwhile, Americans’ views of China have continued to sour. A recent survey by the Pew Research Centre showed that 73 per cent of US adults say they have an unfavourable view of China, up 26 percentage points since 2018.
China’s systems of organisation and culture are so different from the general Western experience that demonisation has unfortunately become the default position. It seems that China can do no right, going by what is dished up every day in prominent American media.
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