I’m proudly translating Discover China by my friend Eric Nie into Spanish (Mexico) and Portuguese (Brazil). Today’s story is a short copywriting essence of Chapter 11. If you’d like to go deeper and explore the full journey, I highly recommend Eric’s book ($9.99): https://ericonchina.com/collections/all
Dear Friends,
One evening in Shanghai, I had dinner with a group of friends — entrepreneurs, engineers, a teacher, a doctor.
Over spicy Sichuan dishes, someone asked me:
“What do Americans think of China now?”
I smiled and asked back:
“What do Chinese people think of America?”
There was a pause.
Then someone said quietly:
“We admire it… but we don’t want to be it.”
That sentence says everything.
For decades, the U.S. and the West symbolized modernity, freedom, success. Older generations in China remember when anything “foreign” felt advanced, even magical.
Today, it’s different.
People still respect Western science, education, creativity.
But they no longer accept the idea that the West defines what’s right.
China still looks at the West.
It just doesn’t look up anymore.
History matters here.
The “Century of Humiliation” — when foreign powers carved up China — isn’t abstract. It’s taught in schools, echoed in families, carried emotionally. So when Western media criticizes China, it doesn’t land as neutral commentary.
It feels personal.
That’s why conversations about the West are rarely just political.
They’re historical.
There’s also a generational shift.
Parents once dreamed of studying in America.
Their children dream of building something that makes America pay attention.
Not nationalism.
Confidence.
At the core is a deeper contrast:
The West celebrates individual success.
China celebrates collective rise.
Western stories start with “I.”
Chinese stories start with “we.”
So when Americans talk about freedom, they often mean personal choice.
When Chinese talk about freedom, they often mean freedom from chaos, from instability, from being humiliated again.
Both make sense.
From different pasts.
A young entrepreneur once told me:
“I used to think the U.S. was the future. Now I think China is.”
I didn’t argue.
Maybe both can be — if they stop labeling and start listening.
In the 1980s, China wanted to catch up.
In the 2000s, it wanted to compete.
Now, it wants to coexist.
The real story isn’t East versus West.
It’s whether two civilizations can learn to see each other — not as rivals, but as mirrors.
Because admiration may fade.
But curiosity remains.
And curiosity, when met with respect, is where connection begins.
Cheers,
Augusto
Founder of Expat Eyes on China
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