Gen Z Doesn’t Fear China, but Also Doesn’t Know China

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter received a phone call from Dr. Frank Press, his science adviser, who was in China discussing the possibility of accepting Chinese students at American universities. Carter famously responded by telling Deng Xiaoping, leader of the People's Republic, to send "a hundred thousand" students instead. This exchange marked the beginning of a new relationship between the two nations.

Over the years, the number of Chinese and American students studying abroad in each other's countries grew rapidly, but a new study reveals a surprising trend. Gen Z, the American generation born between 1997 and 2013, is the generation least afraid of China, yet also the least likely to actually know China. According to a new analysis by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, only 34% of Gen Z sees China as a critical threat, compared to 62% of baby boomers.

However, despite this decreased fear, 43% of Gen Z still view China as a rival or adversary. The decline in China's popularity among American students is evident, with the number of American students studying in China dropping from 11,639 in the year before COVID to just 1,749 in 2023-24, according to the State Department-sponsored Open Doors data.

This decline, despite the increased popularity of studying in countries like Japan and South Korea, highlights a paradox. While young Americans may not fear China, their direct educational contact with the nation has almost disappeared. A bipartisan working group warns that fewer than 2,000 Americans per year are currently studying in China, potentially leading to a critical shortage of people with China expertise within a decade.

The shift from traditional news consumption to digital platforms like TikTok may contribute to this phenomenon, creating a strange reversal where physical America becomes more distant from China, while digital America becomes more intimate with it.