How US-China Relations Impact Opinions on China and Chinese/Asian Americans

• In Event: Asian American Political Behavior: Diverse Communities and Methodologies

Abstract

How does homeland origin impact the welfare of emigrants (and their US-born descendants) in the US diaspora? Hostilities between governments in places of origin and settlement may trigger xenophobic reactions of the native-born and discriminatory treatments against immigrant-origin Americans tied to antagonistic foreign homelands. Rising US-China tensions and negative perceptions of China may endanger the lives and livelihoods of Chinese and other Asian Americans due to the presumption of “guilt by ethnic association.” However, the relationship between public perceptions of China and the fate of Americans perceived as being Chinese has been largely anecdotal. Viewed through the prism of US public opinion toward China and US-China relations, this research provides a systematic review of the rise and contours of the perceived “China threat” in American elite and public opinion and how it may impact the welfare of Chinese Americans in particular and Asian Americans in general in the present day. This research benefits from the availability of several large-scale national public opinion surveys conducted between 2020 and 2023, especially the STAATUS 2023 and SOCA of 2022. Preliminary results find little relationship between perceived threats from China and people of Chinese descent residing in the US. They seem to refute the idea that there is a necessary relationship between perceived threats by China and assessments of Asian American loyalty and high-tech employment. However, this does not mean Chinese and other Asian Americans themselves do not feel discriminated against on a daily basis. We discuss the policy implications of these seemingly contradictory findings.

Author

• Pei-te Lien, University of California Santa Barbara