When Perceptions Change: Two Decades of US-China Trade Relations
34 Pages Posted: 1 Aug 2011 Last revised: 19 Oct 2011
Date Written: 2011
Abstract
By the time of the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands incident between China and Japan in early September 2010, and the subsequent interruptions in trade in rare-earths, the American perception of China’s economic strength had definitively soured. While the Diaoyu/Senkaku episode raised new concerns over China’s use of its growing economic power, however, negative portrayal of China had begun years prior. This paper attempts to understand, through the Chinese case, how, when, and why the US public’s perceptions of trading partners change. We focus on the shift in perceptions of China as a trade partner over the last two decades among the American public as portrayed in the media through the voices of industry leaders, trade advocates, labor unions, and politicians. US perceptions of China’s overall economic power began turning sour around 2004-2005, and this negative shift has continued to pick up steam in the years that followed. We find that widely-reported international events explain best the shifts in perceptions observed.
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