People have often asked me how feelings in China are towards the US in general. I'm usually able to report a cheerful outlook. My contention is that there is more than enough tension within Asia to keep Chinese minds occupied, and in my experience, I've found feelings towards Americans to be slightly positive. Although, it is apparent that those feelings have declined since Bush took office, the declination was not remarkable.
I can report that in the past two years, I've personally experienced blatant anti-Americanism on two occasions, both by drunk people in bars. On the first occasion, the person was very drunk and blurting out that they hated all Americans, but I found solace in how he fell down the stairs immediately after saying so. The second occasion was by a man and his girlfriend, while playing pool at a British pub. This second occasion was a little more disturbing because the man seemed to be affluent and composed. They made fun of me and my friend as we played them in pool, my solace was that we were more composed, took the higher ground, and beat them in pool.
I never found this remarkable, because I realize that this sort of behavior could easily happen anywhere, but it is interesting to note that it only happened in the past two years. This is obviously not enough to evidence that anti-US sentiment is on the rise, but it seems that it's on the rise in the media.
The media plays an inciting role in any society and can easily sway the feelings of the nation. Recently, the trend has been up-playing anger about the US reactions towards Tibet, and the following protests during the Olympic torch run. This has been a sore point for Chinese because they have a tremendous sense of national pride. As the worldwide media (particularly the US media) recoils at Chinese actions, the Chinese media returns fire with biased reporting. Now I'm not saying that the Chinese media is the only one guilty of biased reporting; both sides are. This virtual media war has the effect of raising anti-US sentiment.
Recently, a CNN reporter was quoted in the Chinese media as saying all Chinese are "goons and thugs", and this has caused quite a stir (article). He claims, and it seems to be the case that he was talking about the regime, but even if that's the case, these are the types of quotes that have to be avoided.
Politically directed, the media can stir up resentment on either side, and it's clear that through the media there is an increase in anti-US sentiment, but I still believe the general attitude towards Americans in China is as positive as can be expected with all these negative news reports, and it certainly doesn't trump anti-China sentiment in the US, where the attitude is more one of panic about China's rise to power and the imminent danger that an "angry China" poses.
