Too many US researchers looking at China through an American lens, professor warns
Flawed approach to China studies could fuel misunderstandings and lead to misguided policy decisions in Washington, seminar hears
The US needs a more nuanced understanding of China to avoid policy missteps that hamper efforts to build trust between the two countries, a leading international relations professor has warned.
Many scholars tended to interpret China primarily through an American lens, using frameworks designed to make sense of US politics and society, Diao Daming, from Renmin University, told a seminar last week.
“Some view China simply as another superpower, assuming it follows the same logic as the US and can therefore be analysed using the same theoretical frameworks,” he said.
“From this perspective, one could even conduct China studies without a solid command of Chinese – or without knowing the language at all – and similarly dispense with an understanding of China’s history and culture. This is clearly a serious problem.”
Diao also said that while older China researchers were “genuinely interested in China”, younger generations were not motivated by the same curiosity.
“For them, the starting point of studying China … stems entirely from a sense of vigilance and suspicion, a form of hostility towards the ‘other’, and a perception that engagement with China is a matter of existential competition, not merely a contest,” he said.