Despite widespread adoration for giant pandas, with fans showing immense emotion at their departure, public sentiment in Japan towards China remains overwhelmingly negative. A recent poll showed nearly 90% of Japanese people hold unfavorable views of China, highlighting the distinct separation between cultural symbols and geopolitical feelings.
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Unlike the 1980s, when Japanese corporations were common antagonists in films like Die Hard, modern Hollywood avoids portraying China negatively. This is attributed to a desire to maintain access to China's lucrative box office, resulting in a pop culture landscape that doesn't reflect geopolitical tensions.
A growing meme suggests China is becoming "hot" and "in," capturing the Western imagination with its futuristic cities and unique online culture. This cultural shift, amplified by influencers, positions China as a new center of gravity for trends, potentially supplanting the long-held cultural influence of Japan and Korea.
A new wave of Chinese nationalists, known as "little pinks," fuses patriotism with the tactics of online fan culture ("stans"). They use coordinated social media strategies, typically seen among celebrity fan groups, to attack political targets and promote the state's agenda, creating a potent form of digital nationalism.
Current anxiety surrounding China is largely confined to policy and financial circles, lacking the broad public and pop culture resonance that characterized the fear of Japan's economic rise in the 1980s, which permeated movies, media, and consumer attitudes.
China is deploying a dual-track foreign policy: engaging in soft 'panda diplomacy' with Western powers like the UK and Canada through cultural outreach and visa-free travel, while simultaneously taking a hardline 'wolf warrior' stance with regional rivals like Japan over issues such as Taiwan and currency tensions. This flexible approach allows Beijing to selectively de-risk relationships.
China's "panda diplomacy" is often seen through the lens of gifting animals. However, the more potent signal is their withdrawal. For the first time in 54 years, Japan has no pandas, a direct reflection of cooling relations, especially as China promises new pandas to a friendlier South Korea, indicating shifting regional alignments.
A viral social media trend of Western youth adopting Chinese lifestyle habits reflects a growing disillusionment with American culture and a nuanced view of China. This 'China maxing' phenomenon shows an ability to appreciate Chinese culture (food, fashion, wellness) as distinct from the country's political system, representing a significant evolution in soft power dynamics.
The most significant point of friction for ordinary Chinese citizens is the constant U.S. military presence near its borders, such as naval patrols in the Taiwan Strait and bases in South Korea and Japan. This sense of being militarily encircled is a more potent source of public frustration than economic disputes.
The "Japan panic" was rooted in fears of economic subordination—like having a Japanese boss or seeing landmarks bought by Japanese firms. In contrast, anxiety about China is dominated by concerns over direct military conflict and a technological arms race, a much starker form of geopolitical rivalry.