Opinion | US-China tensions may be rising, but among Gen Z, the two countries have never been more aligned

Sharing similar digital cultures and unprecedented access to information, the post-95 generation in the US and China have far more in common than their parents

Young people from both countries also share an awareness of the crisis-prone times they live in, with many anxious about the future or eager for social change

Reading Time:3 minutes

Young people pose for a selfie on the Bund promenade in Shanghai on August 23, 2022. Photo: AFP

Published: 1:00am, 9 Feb 2023

Relations between the United States and China remain at a low watermark with limited hope for significant improvement. In spite of this, young people in both countries are more like-minded than any generation before them. A monumental cultural shift is just on the horizon, stemming from technological access, economic opportunities and shared experiences.

At the end of 2022, I spoke individually to 70 American and Chinese Gen Z-ers – university students and recent graduates – as a part of a new intergenerational dialogue. The conversations provided a fascinating look into how young people in seemingly very different countries view themselves and the challenges they face.

US and Chinese Gen Z-ers have a great deal in common. Of the group I spoke with, both Americans and Chinese recognised that China’s economic development, globalisation and technology has made them more interconnected than any generation before them.

China’s rapid economic growth in recent decades has enabled its Gen Z-ers to grow up in significantly more privileged environments than their parents. As a whole, they are better educated and have had more opportunities to travel. Because they have not needed to worry about basic material needs, they are able to focus almost solely on education, career and personal lifestyle choices.

US and Chinese Gen Z-ers have grown up in more similar environments than any generation before them, watching the same television shows and listening to the same music. Their innate digital literacy opens doors to relationships with people of different backgrounds, making them more aware and accepting of cultures and mindsets different from their own.

To Gen Z, China is not a developing nation. Both American and Chinese Gen Z-ers grew up with a China very different from that of older generations. The 2008 Beijing Olympics represents their common perspective of China as an economically and developmentally advanced nation; a technologically modern society; and an emerging leader on the world stage. Chinese youths no longer see a societal gap between the two nations and thus tend to admire the United States less than older generations of Chinese.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x