"Mei-Hua" View, March 2008, Issue # 1

Dear readers,

Welcome to the first issue of Mei-Hua View! The newsletter will express the views of our students, both American (Mei) and Chinese (Hua), who have great courage to tell us what they think, dream and do. These will be honest opinions on US-China relations, bilateral trade, cross-cultural issues and thoughts about the future.

Indeed, the future will be much clearer in 2008. This year is not lacking in big events for both the US and China. The US Presidential elections promise to be intriguing and engaging with great potential to become historic for the United States. In the meantime, Beijing is eager to show the world China’s new glitz and grandeur at the upcoming Olympics. Most certainly, a new US President will come up with his or her own China plan. Whatever this plan will be, China is only going to be more prominent on the U.S. radar screen.

There are many issues that need to be resolved in our bilateral relationship, including the sizeable US-China trade deficit, the stalemate over the yuan, WTO obligations and IPR, energy and environment, to name a few.

Yet these issues can be understood only when we learn about each other, and hence our authors talk about these important aspects. In “US-China: Understanding the Differences,” Nicole Oberjuerge argues that we need to see beyond old US-China stereotypes and open up for better understanding through direct and personal contact.

Alison Wu adds in “China as the Media’s Villain” that the media’s alarmism should be substituted by candid views and honest cooperation with each other. Finally, Bao Jian observes Asian and Western cultural differences in food and business etiquette, and notes growing cultural interconnection between the two nations.

We hope that you’ll enjoy the newsletter and engage in our ongoing U.S.-China dialogue.

Sincerely,

Andrey Gidaspov Program Manager Global Scholars and US-China Programs

US-China: Understanding the Differences

By Nicole Oberjuerge

Is China a threat to the United States? What are China's intentions in Asia and the international system? Doomsayers jump up and down and shout about the inevitable war between the declining hegemon and the rising power. The media warns about the "yellow peril"; the rising trade deficit, the rapid growth of the Chinese economy, and China's increased military spending. American politicians point to China and turn the perils of job outsourcing and unfair competition into platform issues.

To the American public, China represents a challenge to the U.S. position in Asian and world affairs, a future military threat that looms in the distance. Americans are afraid of China. They are afraid that China will in some shape or form destroy American and Western values, annihilate the American way of life, and devastate American economic security. China represents the unknown, and Americans are afraid of the unknown. Shrouded in mystery, China is portrayed as antithetical to America.

But what exactly is China? Who are its people? What is its history? Without a basic understanding and knowledge of China, many of the prophesying pessimists base their analysis solely on suspicion of the unknown—and as American writer Hosea Ballou wrote, "Suspicion is far more apt to be wrong than right; often unjust than just. It is no friend to virtue, and always an enemy to happiness."

I have been living with two girls from China for eleven days now, and while there are undeniable differences in culture and custom—from methods of laundry to cooking—I have found that these girls are not so different from me. They are girls who have dreams and goals and families. They are friendly, inquisitive, intelligent, hard-working, and fun.

We have shared meals, engaged in nocturnal pillow fights, exchanged clothes and jewelry, and gossiped about boys. We have watched several movies, including One Fine Day and Armageddon, and successfully worked together to keep our apartment clean—which is no mean feat.

While I have taught them many things, including the extremely important skills of operating the American washer/dryer combo and the garbage disposal, I have learned much more from them. I have learned that that there are hundreds—and by some estimates thousands—of Chinese dialects, that China is an extremely diverse country that deals with many of the same problems that the U.S. has to deal with, and that I was born in the year of the Tiger.

But most importantly, I have learned that our differences are no cause for fear, and we not only can work together, but have achieved more when we worked together—whether it was studying for a class and asking mutual questions about each other's history or manually laboring in assembly line fashion to quickly clean dishes.

Thus, when people ask how exactly are China and the United States to avoid conflict, especially if so many people believe that conflict is unavoidable, my answer is knowledge. While open dialogue and economic interdependence are important, it is the battle over the minds of average Americans that will determine possible future conflict. The U.S. and China have many difficult and delicate issues to deal with, including human rights violations, intellectual property violations, environmental problems, energy security, and trade concerns.

These differences are not unsolvable, but the first step has to be a dramatic alteration in public perceptions of China, an alteration that needs to be accomplished in two specific areas. First, China needs to fully join the international system to show Americans that China is not only a responsible player on the world stage, but an invested stakeholder in the current international system. Americans need to believe that China is a country that is interested in the welfare of its citizens and its neighbors. Second, there needs to be increased interaction between American and Chinese peoples. With these two things, Americans can let go of fears of an "inevitable" conflict and focus on specific issues.

The world faces many difficult tasks in the coming years, but if American—and Chinese—people can let go of their misguided fears, they can work together, which presents a much more optimistic analysis than that of "inevitable" conflict. If my roommates and I can cooperate—despite the fact that I am American and they are Chinese—surely the educated political leaders of the world can also sit down together and cooperate on important global issues.

Nicole Oberjuerge is a senior student majoring in political science and history at California State University, Long Beach

China as the Media’s Villain

By Alison Wu

Recently I was on Yahoo! Answers—an online community where members ask questions and exchange answers—when I came across a question that read, “Why has the United States not punished China for exporting lead-tainted toys to America?” I paused for a minute upon reading this question. It struck me for reasons that seem apparent; the question brought up issues involving free trade, economic power and political power, but it also brought up an issue beyond those. What I noticed most about this individual’s question was his perception of China and the roles of both China and the United States.

The question posed seemed to treat the situation as if China, the unruly child, needed to be straightened out by its superior, America. With China’s rapid emergence as a growing global economic power, its impact on individuals in the United States as demonstrated in this case is not only noticeable—it is undeniable. Discussion of China’s economic and political dealings can be heard on the news, read in newspapers and sighted on the internet on a near daily basis. Through these media, the significance of China relations translates to a smaller scale, where talk of China’s controversies, actions and opinions of those actions is common among everyday neighbors, friends, coworkers and acquaintances.

In a country with substantial media consumption, however, the nature of such discourse can take a turn for the worse if China is portrayed as threatening or cold. Considering cases including and similar to the largely publicized lead in toys produced in China, it has been shown that American media is capable of altering the general population’s attitudes towards China into attitudes that are defensive, wary and, at times, scared. After news of the lead-tainted toys broke out, for instance, it was not long before I heard a coworker quip, “I bet there’s lead in those toys” at a holiday gift exchange and another coworker comment, “there’s probably lead in the paint” regarding China’s venture into the car industry.

Remarks like these not only imply that people are genuinely worried at the sight of China-made products, but also that the image of China now equates with distrust of Chinese products and standards, as conveyed by media sources. While the Chinese government is responsible for standards that regulate the quality and composition of some exports, news sources often disregard the individual companies at hand, the parties in the United States involved, or the numerous other products that China exports to the United States that are safe. Rather, most stories pursue an alarmist perspective, simply blaming “China” at large.

As a result of alarmist reporting, individuals have become wary at the sight of “Made in China” and of China itself. Although the problem of lead toys from China is one of the most explosive issues in recent mainstream media, numerous other concerns with China are present in the media as well. Literature on China, for example, has expanded and become more available as China is growing. Some of these books predict China’s successes in the future; some discuss China’s economic and political strengths, weaknesses and strategies; but others warn readers of the rise of China and what it may do to the United States and its citizens.

James Kynge’s China Shakes the World: A Titan’s Rise and Troubled Future could be categorized as one of these books. Kynge’s writings focus on China as a nation with a ferocious appetite and an abundance of flaws and weaknesses that will disturb and threaten the economy abroad. Messages such as these are certain to startle readers and possibly lead them to feel as if China is in opposition to the United States, which appears to be far from solving any supposed dilemma in the first place. Instead of writing material that conveys alarmist messages in the media, these writers should include more elaborate and unbiased explanations of the issues at hand.

In order to ensure that the relationship between the United States and China is not one lived in constant fear and uncertainty, alarmist messages that prevent people from understanding and seeing China clearly must be avoided. While those who feel threatened by China are literally and metaphorically arming themselves, problems could be better solved if cooperation was pursued, rather than defensiveness, which could worsen a situation as a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Alison Wu is a Psychology major and Geography minor at California State University, Long Beach

Cultural Issues in the Era of Globalization

By Bao Jian

Nowadays, Chinese and Americans have more and more contact with each other in many areas.  Our two cultures are becoming more interwoven. However, with no doubt there are still many differences between American and Chinese cultures in many aspects.

One large contrast exists in the culinary realm. For example, Western food is very different from Chinese food. In addition, people’s eating habits have their own characteristics, reflecting the different characters of our nations, due to different history, geography and cultural values.

In America, when a group of friends are having dinner together, everyone has their own plate of food. However, in a traditional Chinese dinner, plates of food are placed in the center of the table and shared by everyone. When you visit a Chinese home, the host usually serves plenty of food, making sure that it is more than sufficient for each and everyone. Chinese believe that if the food on the table is finished completely, the host may feel embarrassed, since the host is afraid that the guests would think he or she is too frugal.

Some guests would even intentionally leave a little food left on their plates, indicating that they have been treated well. Many warm-hearted hosts will nip the food to the bowl of the guests and keep persuading the guests to have more food. Actually, with the increasing influence of Western culture, some traditional Chinese customs may not be so distinctive in big cities, but they remain very typical in towns and villages.

At festivals or a family gathering, a typical Chinese dinner starts with some cold dishes, like pistachios, peanuts and cucumber with soy sauce. And then the main courses come up. The main courses usually include hot meat and vegetable dishes. When everyone is almost done with the main courses, soup is brought out. The last course is the starchy "staple" food, which is usually rice, noodles, or occasionally, dumplings. Chinese always eat rice at the end, so if you like to have your rice together with other dishes, you should say so early.

Now I want to describe some differences in how people express themselves and how people act in a business environment. Last week I met a businessman on the DC metro, and he said that he noticed when Chinese or Japanese receive others’ business cards, they always receive them with two hands together and sometimes bow to show their respect, especially when the person giving cards is older or in a higher position.

However, Americans treat this in a more casual way.  The business environment in America is definitely more casual, compared to other cultures. At my work, I do feel the ambience is casual and free. Sometimes office people laugh loudly. I previously did an internship in EXXON MOBIL Corporation in Shanghai. Although it is an American company and influenced by the American business culture, the ambience is more “tight” and serious compared to here. Many American and Chinese business people feel these cultural differences, especially when they are in direct contact with one another.

Compared to Americans, Chinese are usually more quiet and reserved, since the traditional value of Chinese is that joy, anger, sadness or happiness should be hidden away from the “official face,” which is considered cultivated. Naturally, in a modern society many traditional values have faded. Yet Americans appreciate and admire outspoken people, and those who can express ideas directly. Another common phenomenon in business or even in politics is the negotiation style. A common Chinese style is that everyone joins the discussion, and shares their opinions, but the final decision is always made by the boss. A common American style is that decisions are made by individuals at all levels, not only by the boss.

Finally, with globalization, America is absorbing Eastern culture and China is being influenced by American culture. So today we can find that the people of our two countries act more and more alike. Even in Shanghai, with so many foreigners around, sometimes you cannot feel that it is a traditional part of China.

Bao Jian is a senior student in the department of international finance at Fudan University