Race, Anti-Americanism, and US-China Rivalry: A Conjoint Experiment in China

What do increasing tensions with the United States mean for anti-Americanism and xenophobia in China? We currently have a limited understanding of Chinese attitudes towards foreigners, nor how these attitudes may be affected by the country’s international relations. Through a conjoint experiment I show that Chinese people view foreigners – and Americans in particular – less favourably than fellow Chinese nationals, but that race plays a minimal role in their evaluations of foreigners. Following prompts about the United States, however, survey respondents became significantly more negative towards American, White, and Black people in China, both in absolute terms and in relation to other nationalities and races. The findings demonstrate the central role of geopolitics in amplifying the salience of race and stimulating more negative views towards (some) foreigners in China, and the risks of rising prejudice and distrust in the face of intensifying global rivalry.