Brett
Chinese, made in America3y
What are Chinese-American millennials thinking with the rise of the People’s Republic of China?
Originally Answered: What are Chinese-American millennials think with the rise of the People’s Republic of China?
It’s frustrating growing up in the US as an ABC - you’re constantly bombarded with those terribly uncreative jokes about Chinese people. Between the “ching chong ling long” calls, the “Made in China” jeering, and of course the “dirty commie” jokes, there’s not much an ABC can do. Many of us decide to break from our Chinese background in an effort to appease others, which leads to anti-Chinese ABCs getting a disproportionate voice and social standing. It’s a shame, but that is the typical ABC that the other answers observe.

For those of us who decide that being Chinese is an inseparable part of our identity, we generally view the ascendancy of the PRC as a good thing. It will probably take 30–50 years before Americans view China less like an enemy/adversary (since baby boomers are currently in power and they are usually too old to change their worldviews), but we have high hopes for what comes after.

In our day-to-day lives, we are enjoying the increasing availability of quality Chinese goods/groceries. Our coworkers are becoming increasingly curious about China, so there are less headaches about misinformation. The Chinese language schools are also getting better, with far fewer cases of volunteer teachers who really have no teaching skills. And of course visiting China is much nicer - the visas are more flexible, the flights more frequent with fewer layovers, and the cities of our relatives are constantly changing (so it’s quite exciting each time).

Of course, this is all disregarding the obvious prospect of being a cultural bridge between the two most powerful and wealthy countries in the world. Every ABC I know has thought about how to best take advantage of this rare opportunity - even the ones who have distanced themselves from their heritage.