The Resurgence of Chinese Anti-Americanism in the 1990s:State Policy or Popular Expression?

While Western observers typically attribute the population’s nationalist anti-Americanism largely to government propaganda or manipulation,they misunderstand the roots of anti-American behavior in China.As depicted by Peter Hay Gries in China’s New Nationalism and by Michael H.Hunt in The Genesis of China’s Foreign Policy,a more nuanced portrayal is in order.While the two books utilize distinct social- psychological and historical perspectives,an integrative reading of the two suggests that popular expression is in fact largely responsible for China’s anti-Americanism.At first this conclusion in favor of popular expression may seem at odds with Hunt’s state-centered analysis of the roots of foreign policy.Nevertheless,after a brief summary of each book and a comparative application to the issue of anti-Americanism,the authors demonstrate that applying a comparative historical reappraisal to Hunt’s study suggests that both scholarly works support the predominant role of popular expression on contemporary China’s nationalist anti- Americanism.