“Soft power” is even more important during times of sharp words and military bluster, but the cultural appeal of American culture and ideas has waned in China.
This coincides with my own observations and from talking to friends and family on the mainland some large changes have occurred and only accelerated especially since COVID.
Many people are very proud of the country and what China has been able to accomplish in the last half century or so. The old image of the mainland being some sort of backwater is more or less gone. The material gains and improvements of the lives of the people are impossible to deny and the accomplishments in science, culture, and many other fields is likewise impossible to ignore.
Opinion of other nations especially the west and America are a lot lower as a result. This isn’t to say that most people hate or dislike the west. It’s more so a quiet disappointment in a lot of ways. For example I was talking to a cousin of mines about visiting Tokyo and her response was that it’s pretty mediocre. The prevailing opinion is that many places are nice in terms of unique atmosphere or culture but there’s really nothing you could not find in some province on the mainland. Between this shift in perception and the restriction of air travel by the west it’s no surprise that domestic tourism has become such a behemoth since COVID.
These opinions have made it harder for the more liberal minded individuals to make any argument that are pro-western. The shiny western model that was so progressive and new 40 years ago has definitely lost its shine. I think public opinion while not explicitly leftist are leaning more and more towards that side. Even more reactionary members of the chinese diaspora I have talked to are having a much harder time justifying or defending their old positions especially if they have visiting the motherland in recent years. Overall, I think it will be interesting to see the natural development of socialist soft power in the coming decades and how it may affect our own ability to enact revolution and change in the west as the failings of capitalism become more and more obvious.
I think being abandoned during covid was also radicalizing for a lot of people in US as well. The pandemic made it pretty clear that the government simply doesn’t care about the people.
Yup. On the diaspora end the surge of sinophobia and blatant racism during covid definitely didn’t help but at least it’s made it easier for me to change some people’s opinions.
This makes me sad, but one common thing Ive noticed is that Chinese travelers often expect other places to be as new and shiny as their own cities neglecting that most places have not had such a recent growth spike for new infrastructure and infrastructure wont always be brand new. Many tourists complain that Kyotos train system is old, while its serves its job to the local population and still is regularly maintained with minimal delays and a lack of overcrowding. It just wasn’t built in the last 10 to 15 years.
This coincides with my own observations and from talking to friends and family on the mainland some large changes have occurred and only accelerated especially since COVID.
Many people are very proud of the country and what China has been able to accomplish in the last half century or so. The old image of the mainland being some sort of backwater is more or less gone. The material gains and improvements of the lives of the people are impossible to deny and the accomplishments in science, culture, and many other fields is likewise impossible to ignore.
Opinion of other nations especially the west and America are a lot lower as a result. This isn’t to say that most people hate or dislike the west. It’s more so a quiet disappointment in a lot of ways. For example I was talking to a cousin of mines about visiting Tokyo and her response was that it’s pretty mediocre. The prevailing opinion is that many places are nice in terms of unique atmosphere or culture but there’s really nothing you could not find in some province on the mainland. Between this shift in perception and the restriction of air travel by the west it’s no surprise that domestic tourism has become such a behemoth since COVID.
These opinions have made it harder for the more liberal minded individuals to make any argument that are pro-western. The shiny western model that was so progressive and new 40 years ago has definitely lost its shine. I think public opinion while not explicitly leftist are leaning more and more towards that side. Even more reactionary members of the chinese diaspora I have talked to are having a much harder time justifying or defending their old positions especially if they have visiting the motherland in recent years. Overall, I think it will be interesting to see the natural development of socialist soft power in the coming decades and how it may affect our own ability to enact revolution and change in the west as the failings of capitalism become more and more obvious.
I think being abandoned during covid was also radicalizing for a lot of people in US as well. The pandemic made it pretty clear that the government simply doesn’t care about the people.
Yup. On the diaspora end the surge of sinophobia and blatant racism during covid definitely didn’t help but at least it’s made it easier for me to change some people’s opinions.
This makes me sad, but one common thing Ive noticed is that Chinese travelers often expect other places to be as new and shiny as their own cities neglecting that most places have not had such a recent growth spike for new infrastructure and infrastructure wont always be brand new. Many tourists complain that Kyotos train system is old, while its serves its job to the local population and still is regularly maintained with minimal delays and a lack of overcrowding. It just wasn’t built in the last 10 to 15 years.
that is hard to take when I look at the lack of transit options where I am