Anti-Asian Racism and US-China Relations

An American college student recently shared in social media the quiz questions that her 6th grade sister took online at a school in Texas.  One of the questions is: Which one of these Chinese norms is true?

1. A) It is normal in China to cut off someone’s lips if they burp up in a restaurant.
2. B) It is normal in parts of China to give children fifty lashes by a cane if they steal a piece of candy.
3. C) It is normal in parts of China to eat cats and dogs.

Just imagine what kind of education these kids are receiving about China. Will one be surprised if they grow up disliking China and Chinese people?  Bias against China and the Chinese is being developed at a young age. No wonder anti-Asian racism has persisted in America.

Racism towards Asian-Americans has been part of US history. Unfortunately, this is not taught at American schools. White supremacy is at the core of racism and xenophobia. Asian-Americans, like Blacks, Latinos, and other minority groups, have been victims of racial discrimination. When the US economy tanks and when Americans feel vulnerable, immigrants and foreign countries are often scapegoated. This has repeatedly happened throughout American history.

Anti-Asian racism has been rising at an astonishing rate in the United States now. There is no doubt that racism in the United States adds fuel to the fire as US-China relations continue to deteriorate.

Many Americans cannot distinguish between a foreign country and immigrants from that country. When the United States is having trouble with a foreign country, the racist hatred and anger are often vented towards American citizens originated from that country. A typical example is that after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, about 120,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated in concentration camps between 1942 and 1946 by President Franklin Roosevelt’s executive order. Even American leaders could not make a distinction between a foreign government and American citizens of foreign descent.

The current animosity between the United States and China and anti-Asian racism are reinforcing each other. The latest wave of anti-Asian racism coincides with the rise of Trumpism and the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump blamed China for the pandemic, ignoring the fact that as late as February 2020, he was still praising China for doing a great job in controlling the virus. He promoted and incited anti-China racism by using “Chinese virus” and “Kung Flu” repeatedly. The notion that China is responsible for the pandemic and America’s economic and social problems naturally leads to the anti-China hatred and anti-Chinese American violence. When the US government repeatedly claims that China is a threat to US interests, how can one expect ordinary Americans to treat China or Chinese-Americans fairly?

Those engaging in hate speech and attacks against Asian-Americans seem uninterested in differentiating among people of Asian ancestry, but Chinese-Americans are the primary target. Of thousands of hate crimes against Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders reported over the past year, 42 percent were targeted at Chinese-Americans. Many Americans still do not view Asian Americans as fellow citizens and often treat them as perpetual foreigners or citizens of their ancestral homeland. Both the “positive” comment “You speak English so well” and the “negative” comment “Go back to where you came from” point to the same prejudice against Asian-Americans.

American politicians have applied double standards regarding racism and human rights violations, creating added tensions in US-China relations.

For example, the US Department of State publishes annual country reports of human rights practices, and every year China is singled out for criticism, but racism and other human rights violations inside America are never addressed. Members of Congress seem more concerned about Uyghurs in Xinjiang than suffering immigrant children at the US-Mexico border. No wonder top Chinese diplomats told their US counterparts during the Alaska meeting in March 2021 that the United States was not qualified to lecture China.

Racism, gun violence, and the horrible conditions at immigrant holding facilities are just some of the problems the US government seems unable to solve. As racism is raging across America, it is puzzling why the United States, along with a few other Western countries, voted against a United Nations call at the end of 2020 for concrete actions to eliminate racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia.

Asian-Americans, especially Chinese-Americans such as Sherry Chen and Xiaoxing Xi, have been wrongly accused of spying for China, which not only hurts US relations with China but endangers the safety of Chinese-Americans. When US-China rivalry intensifies, Chinese-Americans’ loyalty will be questioned. Chinese-Americans in academia and businesses are under tight scrutiny for suspected espionage or stealing sensitive technologies for China, perpetuating the misperception that Chinese-Americans are not loyal US citizens and cannot be trusted.

In November 2018 in the midst of the Trump administration’s trade war with China, then Attorney General Jeff Sessions launched the US Justice Department’s “China Initiative.”  The initiative was part of the “all of government” response to perceived China threat articulated by then Vice President Mike Pence the month before.  The FBI is also involved in the China Initiative. In July 2020, FBI Director Christopher Wray claimed that the bureau was “opening a new China-related counterintelligence case about every 10 hours.”  The China Initiative, which is still being implemented by the Biden administration, may lead to racial profiling of Chinese citizens and Chinese-Americans.

As part of the anti-China policy, the US government has forced colleges across America to close the Confucius Institute and threatened to cut federal funding if they do not comply.  However, nothing has been put in place to fill the vacuum of educating Americans about China, leading to more misinformation and misperception about China and the Chinese, as reflected in the Texas school quiz.

Racism in America not only hurts Asian-Americans but also harms America’s image as a “shining city upon a hill.”  Just as American public opinions of China have turned sharply negative now, the Chinese frustration with the United States grows as well. When such mutual understanding and mutual respect disappear, it will be difficult to restore and consolidate US-China relations.  Obviously, combating racism not only serves America’s own national interests but also helps repair US-China relations.

Zhu Zhiqun is Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Bucknell University, the United States.

The article reflects the writer’s opinions, and not necessarily the views of China Focus.