For Americans, the term “American decline” may conjure up any number of bleak scenarios, from economic stagnation to the creeping corrosion of a liberal international order, or simply a vague, intangible dread. When confronted with this notion, it’s hard not to imagine everyday Chinese chortling at their geopolitical rival’s weakness or ineptitude while Communist apparatchiks in Beijing leadership compounds give each other gleeful high-fives.
The data from China’s vast Internet supports a more nuanced picture. Perhaps unsurprisingly, for many Chinese, the rise of their own country is more interesting than what transpires 7,000 miles away. According to searches on Weibo, China’s …read more
Source: Foreign Policy
