[Aljazeera] Millions of liberals and conservatives across the country — consciously or unconsciously — harbour anti-Chinese sentiments. They view those of Chinese ancestry and other Asian Americans, as competent and hard-working but also cunning, unidimensional and clannish. After all, if the virus had originated in Sweden, would we be seeing the same kinds of attacks on Scandinavian Americans?
The prevalence and intensity of Sinophobia has shifted with the changing political, economic, and social relationship between the US and China. According to a recent report from the Pew Research Center, 73 percent of Americans hold an unfavourable view of China, up from 47 percent in 2018. The escalating trade war, China’s human rights abuses, and Trump’s rhetoric have triggered the shift.