US-China cultural relations deteriorate to new lows: report

22 July 2023

Non-military relations between the United States and China have hit a low point amid simmering tensions over Taiwan and trade, The Guardian's Michael Goodier and Amy Hawkins revealed in a Saturday analysis.

"The Covid-19 pandemic and travel restrictions, coupled with the continuing trade war between the two countries, is diluting cultural exchanges, with visitor numbers, students, and even the world of literature all affected," the correspondents found. "During the late 2000s and early 2010s there was an increase in cultural exchange between the US and China. Since then, tensions between the two countries — which rose under Donald Trump and have continued under Joe Biden — have sent those trends into reverse."

The two journalists elaborated on several key markers that underscore the strain between the US and the world's most populous nation.

The number of students from each studying abroad in the other, along with the exchange of mutual journalism, has plummeted in recent years, according to Goodier and Hawkins.

"The Covid-19 pandemic led to the first drop in numbers since 2003-04" while "A similar pattern has been seen in reverse," Goodier and Hawkins explained. They noted that "tit-for-tat expulsions and visa changes" are "making life hard for foreign correspondents of both nations."

Entertainment and tourism have suffered as well.

"The influence of Hollywood has also faded in China. While Chinese-produced films have never been that popular in the US, Hollywood historically made up a large portion of Chinese box office revenues," added Goodier and Hawkins. "The advent of the Covid-19 pandemic caused global travel to collapse – and China has had strong restrictions in place longer than any other country. Figures from the I-94 arrivals program, however, show a dwindling number of Chinese tourists to the US even before the pandemic hit."

The Guardian's report is available at this link.

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