Younger Americans are friendlier to China

Propaganda works.

Younger people increasingly get their news from social media, and they're exposed to a more diverse set of news. Meanwhile, older people tend to primarily get their news from traditional media.

There's a similar trend with support of Israel and Palestine https://www.axios.com/2023/10/26/generational-divide-on-the-israel-hamas-war

This shows just how propagandized traditional media is in the west.

This kinda looks like a bad poll. The wording seems to setup a bad choice of extremes. The respondent has to either choose "friendly" or "an enemy". But the relationship between the US and China is a much more complex thing. The US and China are certainly in competition in a number of areas, economically and geopolitically. The induction of China to the WTO in 2001 impacted the US's manufacturing sector negatively (see: https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-9/forty-years-of-falling-manufacturing-employment.htm). The US and China are at odds over the fate of Taiwan. But, in spite of all that, the US and China have deep trade links which benefit both countries greatly. And both countries are likely better off than they would be without the other. Global trade is generally positive for the economies involved, though global trade can also fuck individuals inside each economy, including driving wealth concentration and harming the economically disadvantaged and people whose skills don't align well with the industries their country is focused on.

Trying to boil US-China relations down to either Friendly or "Enemy" misses a lot of the nuance and may mean people aren't giving an accurate picture of how they view China.

I visit China frequently for work and feel that the impression most older Americans have of China is incredibly out of touch. The traditional media portrayal of the country is definitely a part of this. Yes, it's certainly an authoritarian state, but this doesn't change whether the people are nice or what they want in life.

My company has an office in China and I've been there many many times.

Chinese people are like all other people - same needs, same hopes and dreams, same fears, same drivers. In the city where our office is located, they are extremely hard working and want to ensure a better future for their family. Just like most American cities.

Their city is very high tech, moreso than many American cities because they skipped a lot of legacy technology.

They don't necessarily subscribe to the same moral/value system as Americans, for example they often see copying each other's ideas as a compliment whereas Americans see it as stealing. Kind of like - if it's possible to copy, then it's fair game - so don't make it possible if you don't want it copied. Perhaps that drives a different kind of innovation.

Obviously there are many more cultural differences. But as a people, we are all essentially working with the same needs.

All that being said I don't appreciate the great firewall when I'mthere, the censorship, and the fear they have about discussing banned topics. I don't appreciate the high-tech security cameras at every corner, or all the tracking of activities. The younger generations tolerate this for now because they are wealthier than their parents and told to cooperate, but that may not hold long term.

Further proof that Reddit and gamers aren't the best representation of young people. Also really liking the fits that they're wearing in the picture.

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