“A new generation of scholarly, governmental and journalistic reputations is being built on the idea that the US has entered a new cold war, with China in the role of the Soviet Union and a reduced Russia as its eager helpmate.
In fact, the latest statistical data shows that since the recent easing of travel restrictions in China, foreign travellers are returning in large numbers - a development which Western media, with its grip on information and opinions about China, would prefer not to see happen. Any discerning reader will be wondering whether the unnamed informant exists and whether the triple “much” has been inserted to sex up the storyline to make it appear insurmountable for foreigners to travel in China.However, a quick visit to the numerous YouTube and TikTok videos put out by foreign vloggers travelling in China reveals a reality that contradicts the allegations of foreign travellers being put off by China’s social regulations and government, and by China’s homegrown apps.
It is also the comments from the multitude of commentators in the unfiltered and uncensored China exchange in social media – some are visitors from past and more recent trips – which provide strongly opposite views to the propaganda cranked out by Western media on China. Fear is the only reason the US wanted to contain China. When tariffs failed, technology sanctions followed.And when de-coupling was found to hurt the US economy more than China’s, it was changed to de-risking, which in effect means a “slow de-coupling” until a more appropriate time.
To its credit, the BBC article has identified one important reason for the slow return of foreign travellers to China though it failed to discuss this more.