There is a history of anti-Americanism in China, beginning with the general disdain for foreigners in the early 19th century that culminated in the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, which the United States Marine Corps participated with other powers in suppressing. The 1905 Chinese boycott of American goods to protest discrimination against the Chinese living in America had a major negative impact on Chinese attitudes. After the Chinese Civil War, the United States and China fought an undeclared war during the Korean War, in which 148,000 Chinese soldiers died, that left bitter feelings on both sides. Relations warmed up after 1970, but large-scale anti-American sentiments significantly increased since US President Donald Trump launched a trade war against China in the late 2010s.
In response to severe restrictions on Chinese immigration to the United States, the overseas Chinese living in the United States organized a boycott whereby people in China refuse to purchase American products. The project was organized by a reform organization based in the United States, Baohuang Hui. Unlike the Boxers, these reformers were modernizers. The Manchu government had supported the Boxers, but these reformers—of whom Sun Yat-sen was representative, opposed the government. The boycott was put into effect by merchants and students in the south and central China. It made only a small economic impact because China bought few American products apart from Standard Oil's kerosene. Washington was outraged and treated the boycott as a Boxer-like violent attack, and demanded the Peking government stop it or else. President Theodore Roosevelt asked Congress for special funding for a naval expedition. Washington refused to consider softening the exclusion laws because it responded to deep-seated anti-Chinese prejudices that were widespread, especially on the West Coast. It now began to denounce Chinese nationalism. [1] The impact on the Chinese people, in China and abroad, was far-reaching. Jane Larson argues the boycott, "marked the beginning of mass politics and modern nationalism in China. Never before had shared nationalistic aspirations mobilized Chinese across the world in political action, joining the cause of Chinese migrants with the fate of the Chinese nation." [2] [3] [4]
During the World War II, Wang Jingwei regime established the Anti-British-American Association of the Chinese Nation to organize anti-American activities. [5] [6]
During the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II, the U.S. provided economic and military assistance to the Chiang Kai-shek regime against the Japanese invasion. In particular, the "China Hands" (American diplomats known for their knowledge of China) also attempted to establish diplomatic contacts with Mao Zedong's communists in their stronghold in Yan'an, with a goal of fostering unity between the Nationalists and Communists. [7] However, relations soured after the communist victory in the Chinese Civil War and the relocation of the Chiang regime to Taiwan, together with the start of the Cold War and rise of McCarthyism in U.S. politics. While the U.S. initially expected the Chiang regime to quickly fall, China and the U.S. fought a major undeclared war in Korea, 1950–53 and, as a result, President Harry S. Truman began advocating a policy of containment and sent the United States Seventh Fleet to deter a possible communist invasion of Taiwan. [8] The U.S. signed the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty with Taiwan which lasted until 1979 and, during this period, the communist government in Beijing was not diplomatically recognized by the U.S. By 1950, virtually all American diplomatic staff had left mainland China, and one of Mao's political goals was to identify and destroy factions inside China that might be favorable to capitalism. [9] [10]
Mao initially ridiculed the U.S. as "paper tiger" occupiers of Taiwan, "the enemy of the people of the world and has increasingly isolated itself" and "monopoly capitalist groups", [11] and it was argued that Mao never intended friendly relations with the U.S. [12] However, due to the Sino-Soviet split and increasing tension between China and the Soviet Union, US President Richard Nixon signaled a diplomatic re-rapprochement with communist China, and embarked on an official visit in 1972. [13] Diplomatic relations between the two countries were eventually restored in 1979. After Mao's death, Deng Xiaoping embarked on economic reforms, and hostility diminished sharply, while large-scale trade and investments, as well as cultural exchanges, became major factors. Following the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, the U.S. placed economic and military sanctions upon China, although official diplomatic relations continued. [14]
Anti-American and Chinese nationalist sentiments both surged following the Yinhe incident of 1993, which was sparked when a Chinese ship was detained by the US Navy in international waters, the ship allegedly contained chemical components which were headed for Iran, but it was eventually cleared after months of inspections. [15] The Third Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1996 has led the Chinese government to be concerned about a supposed China containment policy, and began viewing the United States as responsible for major issues that arise in the bilateral relationship between China and Taiwan, as the Chinese government believed that American support of Taiwan is an effort to weaken China. [16] During this time, there was also a sense of disillusionment with the U.S. among Chinese intellectuals, and popular books such as China Can Say No criticized U.S. foreign policy towards China and promoted grass-roots Chinese nationalism. Relations were severely strained by the U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade on May 7, 1999, which was caused by an intelligence error, according to reports which were compiled and broadcast by U.S. media outlets, but several foreign sources claimed that the incident was deliberate, a claim which was believed by many Chinese. [17] [18] The bombing, along with the perceived lack of an apology from the U.S., led to massive protests in Beijing and other major Chinese cities. In 2001, diplomatic relations were further damaged by the Hainan Island incident, which was sparked when a collision between a U.S. aircraft and a Chinese aircraft resulted in the death of the Chinese pilot and the detention of the 24 American crew members.
While the Chinese government officially condemned the September 11 attacks, the Chinese state-run media produced books, films and video games which glorified the terrorist attack as a "humbling blow against an arrogant nation. [19] The Washington Post recorded the mixed reactions among the general public after the attack had been reported: “While average Chinese routinely approach Americans to offer condolences for Tuesday's terrorist attacks, many others in their offices, schools and Internet chats have voiced satisfaction at what they describe as a well-deserved blow against U.S. arrogance.” [20] Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times considered the schadenfreude at 9/11 he saw on Chinese internet as a sign of rapidly increasing Chinese nationalism. [21] A 2001 Harris poll conducted 2 months afterwards also showed that Beijing respondents were much more likely to disapprove of the U.S. government's military actions against terrorism compared to Japanese, South Korean, and American respondents. [22] However, it was noted that the Chinese discourse primarily revolved around revenge against U.S. state policy instead of hatred for Americans, and a 2002 survey of Chinese netizens in light of 9/11 found that "international cooperation" was among the policies most would favour for fighting terrorism. [23] [24] A Chinese media report on the 2019 anniversary of 9/11 also suggested there to be more restrained rhetoric online in discussing the topic compared to the past.
Although the election of US President Barack Obama was positively received in China in 2008 [25] [26] [27] and a temporary increase in favorable views of the U.S., [28] it also signified a shift in American foreign policy towards the country, as then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for a "Pivot to Asia", or rebalancing of U.S., strategic and economic interests in East Asia, specifically freedom of navigation patrols in the South China Sea. [29] This move was widely seen as attempts to counter Chinese interests in the region, and in response, the Chinese military began their own buildup in the region, such as the creation of its own Air Defense Identification Zone. [30] Recently, in 2009, Luo Ping, a director-general at the China Banking Regulatory Commission, criticized America's laissez-faire capitalism and said that he hated America when the United States Treasury would start to print money and depreciate the value of the U.S. dollar, thus cheapening the value of China's purchase of U.S. bonds. [31] Furthermore, China's leaders present their country as an alternative to the meddling power of the West. [32] In 2013, 53% of the Chinese surveyed had an unfavorable view of the U.S., [33] which slightly improved in 2016 where 44% of those surveyed had an unfavorable view compared to 50% expressing a favorable one. [34]
A poll of 500,000 Chinese netizens, conducted by Hong Kong's Phoenix Television in 2011 suggested that 60% of those surveyed agreed Osama bin Laden's death was a sad event because "he was an anti-US warrior". [35] [36] [37] However, another report by Public Radio International documented more mixed responses on Chinese social media, and noted that most users did not care about his death. [38]
Chinese hackers have also waged cyberwarfare against American institutions. [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] Quartz suggested that certain Hollywood films such as Django Unchained were allowed to slip past China's film censorship, because they depicted a negative view of American society. It alleges that the film "depicts one of America's darker periods, when slavery was legal, which Chinese officials like to use to push back against criticism from the United States". [44]
There has been a significant increase in anti-US sentiment since the Trump administration launched a trade war against China, with Chinese media airing Korean War films. [45] [46] In May 2019, Global Times has said that "the trade war with the U.S. at the moment reminds Chinese of military struggles between China and the U.S. during the Korean War." [45]
According to SET News , a minority of Chinese online believe that the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan is a genetic bio-attack executed by United States. [47] Some scholars believe that the CCP is employing an evolving set of anti-American narratives to try to shore up its legitimacy in response to rising domestic challenges, including a slowing economy, growing questions about Xi Jinping's personalization of power, and public dissatisfaction with the government's handling of COVID-19. [48]
During the 2024 United States presidential election, Chinese netizens expressed anger in the face of Donald Trump's threat to impose tariffs of more than 60% on Chinese imported goods. Some think he would increase the odds of a war. The world will “never be at peace” with Mr Trump around, reckons another netizen. “This old madman is too vicious,” says a third. “He must be annihilated.” [49]
Chinese unification, also known as Cross-Strait unification or Chinese reunification, is the potential unification of territories currently controlled, or claimed, by the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China ("Taiwan") under one political entity, possibly the formation of a political union between the two republics. Together with full Taiwan independence, unification is one of the main proposals to address questions on the political status of Taiwan, which is a central focus of Cross-Strait relations.
Chinese nationalism is a form of nationalism in which asserts that the Chinese people are a nation and promotes the cultural and national unity of all Chinese people. According to Sun Yat-sen's philosophy in the Three Principles of the People, Chinese nationalism is evaluated as multi-ethnic nationalism, which should be distinguished from Han nationalism or local ethnic nationalism.
The relationship between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the United States of America (USA) has been complex and at times tense since the establishment of the PRC and the retreat of the government of the Republic of China to Taiwan in 1949. Since the normalization of relations in the 1970s, the US–China relationship has been marked by numerous perennial disputes including the political status of Taiwan, territorial disputes in the South China Sea, and more recently the treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. They have significant economic ties and are significantly intertwined, yet they also have a global hegemonic great power rivalry. As of 2023, China and the United States are the world's second-largest and largest economies by nominal GDP, as well as the largest and second-largest economies by GDP (PPP) respectively. Collectively, they account for 44.2% of the global nominal GDP, and 34.7% of global PPP-adjusted GDP.
Anti-Americanism is a term that can describe several sentiments and positions including opposition to, fear of, distrust of, prejudice against or hatred toward the United States, its government, its foreign policy, or Americans in general. Anti-Americanism can be contrasted with pro-Americanism, which refers to support, love, or admiration for the United States.
The Sino-Soviet split was the gradual worsening of relations between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) during the Cold War. This was primarily caused by doctrinal divergences that arose from their different interpretations and practical applications of Marxism–Leninism, as influenced by their respective geopolitics during the Cold War of 1947–1991. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Sino-Soviet debates about the interpretation of orthodox Marxism became specific disputes about the Soviet Union's policies of national de-Stalinization and international peaceful coexistence with the Western Bloc, which Chinese leader Mao Zedong decried as revisionism. Against that ideological background, China took a belligerent stance towards the Western world, and publicly rejected the Soviet Union's policy of peaceful coexistence between the Western Bloc and Eastern Bloc. In addition, Beijing resented the Soviet Union's growing ties with India due to factors such as the Sino-Indian border dispute, and Moscow feared that Mao was too nonchalant about the horrors of nuclear warfare.
The Joint Communiqué of the United States of America and the People's Republic of China, also known as the Shanghai Communiqué (1972), was a diplomatic document issued by the United States of America and the People's Republic of China on February 27, 1972, on the last evening of President Richard Nixon's visit to China.
The time period in China from the death of Mao Zedong in 1976 until the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre is often known as Dengist China. In September 1976, after Chairman Mao Zedong's death, the People's Republic of China was left with no central authority figure, either symbolically or administratively. The Gang of Four was purged, but new Chairman Hua Guofeng insisted on continuing Maoist policies. After a bloodless power struggle, Deng Xiaoping came to the helm to reform the Chinese economy and government institutions in their entirety. Deng, however, was conservative with regard to wide-ranging political reform, and along with the combination of unforeseen problems that resulted from the economic reform policies, the country underwent another political crisis, culminating in the crackdown of massive pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square.
Anti-Chinese sentiment is the fear or dislike of China, Chinese people and/or Chinese culture. The relative economic success of ethnic Han Chinese minority in South-East Asia has made them the object of envy and even resentment-driven violence. In the western world, fear over the increasing economic and military power, technological prowess and cultural reach, as well as international influence, of China has driven persistent and selectively negative media coverage of China. This is often aided and abetted by policymakers and politicians, whose actions are driven both by prejudice and expedience.
History of foreign relations of China covers diplomatic, military, political and economic relations in History of China from 1800 to the modern era. For the earlier period see Foreign relations of imperial China, and for the current foreign relations of China see Foreign relations of China.
The 1972 visit by United States president Richard Nixon to the People's Republic of China was an important strategic and diplomatic overture that marked the culmination of the Nixon administration's establishment of relations between the United States of America and the People's Republic of China after years of American diplomatic policy that favored the Republic of China in Taiwan. The seven-day official visit to three Chinese cities was the first time a U.S. president had visited the PRC; Nixon's arrival in Beijing ended 25 years of no communication or diplomatic ties between the two countries and was the key step in normalizing relations between the U.S. and the PRC. Nixon visited the PRC to gain more leverage over relations with the Soviet Union, following the Sino-Soviet split. The normalization of ties culminated in 1979, when the U.S. established full diplomatic relations with the PRC.
The United States foreign policy toward the People's Republic of China originated during the Cold War. At that time, the U.S. had a containment policy against communist states. The leaked Pentagon Papers indicated the efforts by the U.S. to contain China through military actions undertaken in the Vietnam War. The containment policy centered around an island chain strategy. President Richard Nixon's China rapprochement signaled a shift in focus to gain leverage in containing the Soviet Union. Formal diplomatic ties between the U.S. and China were established in 1979, and with normalized trade relations since 2000, the U.S. and China have been linked by closer economic ties and more cordial relations. In his first term as U.S. president, Barack Obama said, "We want China to succeed and prosper. It's good for the United States if China continues on the path of development that it's on".
The People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of Korea formally established modern diplomatic relations in August 1992. South Korea was the last Asian country to establish relations with the People's Republic of China. In recent years, China and South Korea have endeavored to boost their strategic and cooperative partnership in numerous sectors, as well as promoting a high level relationship. Trade, tourism and multiculturalism, specifically, have been the most important factors of strengthening two neighbouring countries' cooperative partnership. Despite this, historical, political and cultural disputes have still played several roles on the relations between South Korea and China, especially with China being politically aligned with North Korea.
The aftermath of the Korean War set the tone for Cold War tension between superpowers. The Korean War was important in the development of the Cold War, as it showed that the two superpowers, United States and Soviet Union, could fight a "limited war" in a third country. The "limited war" or "proxy war" strategy was a feature of conflicts such as the Vietnam War and the Soviet War in Afghanistan, as well as wars in Angola, Greece, and the Middle East.
The bilateral relations between India and Taiwan have improved since the 1990s, despite both nations not maintaining official diplomatic relations. India recognises only the People's Republic of China and not the Republic of China's claims of being the legitimate government of Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau - a conflict that emerged after the Chinese Civil War (1945–49). However, India's economic and commercial links as well as people-to-people contacts with Taiwan have expanded in recent years.
Anti-Korean sentiment in China refers to opposition, hostility, hatred, distrust, fear, and general dislike of Korean people or culture in China. This is sometimes referred to in China as the xianhan sentiment, which some have argued has been evoked by perceived Korean arrogance that has challenged the sense of superiority that the Chinese have traditionally associated with their 5,000-year-old civilization.
With the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, American immigration policy towards Chinese emigrants and the highly controversial subject of foreign policy with regard to the PRC became invariably connected. The United States government was presented with the dilemma of what to do with two separate "Chinas". Both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China wanted be seen as the legitimate government and both parties believed that immigration would assist them in doing so.
Korea has had a long history of both resistance against and subordination to Imperial China. Until the onset of Western imperialism in the 19th century, Korea had been part of the sinocentric East Asian regional order.
Netto-uyoku or net uyoku, often shortened to neto-uyo (ネトウヨ), is the term used to refer to Japanese netizens who espouse ultranationalist far-right views on social media. Netto-uyoku is evaluated as sharing similarities to Western right-wing populism or the alt-right.
East Asia–United States relations covers American relations with the region as a whole, as well as summaries of relations with China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and smaller places. It includes diplomatic, military, economic, social and cultural ties. The emphasis is on historical developments.
The Cold War in Asia was a major dimension of the worldwide Cold War that shaped diplomacy and warfare from the mid-1940s to 1991. The main countries involved were the United States, the Soviet Union, China, North Korea, South Korea, North Vietnam, South Vietnam, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Taiwan. In the late 1950s, divisions between China and the Soviet Union deepened, culminating in the Sino-Soviet split, and the two then vied for control of communist movements across the world, especially in Asia.
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