Summary
Trump is pushing for softer language on Russia’s war in Ukraine, straining G7 unity.
Officials say the U.S. is blocking references to “Russian aggression” and prefers calling it the “Ukraine conflict.”
This shift follows Trump’s peace talks with Putin that excluded Ukraine’s President Zelensky, whom Trump later called a “dictator.”
The change in rhetoric contrasts with Biden-era support for Ukraine and threatens a unified G7 stance.
So you’ve been in the last few months since you learned these great things? Or was it before Covid, when people were physically caged into their apartments?
Was it only to the sterilized foreigner hotels on business trips? Or did you ever stay with locals who had to register your passport with the local police?
Were you able to spend physical currency or was everything already hooked up to official biometric identification (payments tied to socials tied to state id)?
I’m not asking to be confrontational, but the shiny foreigner facing China of yesteryear is nothing like the domestic atmosphere of China today. Their international digital presence is as carefully managed as their local platforms.
The locals I’ve met definitely have a positive view of the US, but things have gotten very dark very quickly under Xi. Think about why they could have started their emigration at any time but are choosing now.
I married a Chinese national and spend a month or two in China every year since.
Look man. You need to fucking stop. You look like an absolute douchebag.
Pretty weird that you were “blown away by China” then… No need to get mad 🤷♀️
My anecdotal experience is different than yours, but everything I’ve said is nothing but facts. China is a country of 1.4 billion people and 3.7 million sq mi, so obviously sentiment will vary. But I based my opinion on what I’ve personally seen and people I’ve talked to across half a dozen cities, so I feel pretty confident in my pessimism.
You’re clearly under the impression that this is something which has happened recently. And it’s not. Which is really weird because I at no point in time said anything about this being a recent thing. That’s your own bias and you’re making yourself look like a douche because you’re piling up your assumptions with each post…“oh, he must not talk to actual Chinese!” “oh, he must be one of these TikToker’s!” “oh, I bet he’s never even been to China!”
Clearly it’s a wide and diverse country. Your pessimism singularly indicates that you gravitate towards the negative–not that China is in a bad spot, but that you’re only choosing to see the bad…
My assumptions were built off your original comment, in which you said it was recent and driven by XHS:
I don’t know your life story and it didn’t seem like a leap to think “He uses TikTok” and “It doesn’t sound like he’s been to China from his reaction”. I could be wrong about those assumptions, but it wasn’t unreasonable. It’s pretty wild that you’re trying to walk it back even though it’s right there, verbatim.
Again, my intention wasn’t a personal attack, I’m just trying to provide a counterpoint to the sentiment I often see; that China is a bastion of progress and everything I’ve been told is western propaganda. My anecdotal explanation is to show this isn’t coming from what I read on CNN or second hand but my lived experiences in the country.
And if you want to think I’m a douche: go for it, more power to you. I just wanted to voice my thoughts on the matter.
Gives very weird vibes when someone suddenly shifts what they are arguing about half way through and reveals that they actually felt this way for a long time and lied about it being a sudden change.