Do Chinese see Americans as arrogant?

A visit to The Inquirer by a delegation of Chinese journalists this week may have provided some insight into how many in that nation think of Americans.

Du Feijin, a director of news for the People's Daily in Beijing, noted in one conversation that Shensi Province could be considered the "Philadelphia of China" in that it was there that rebel leader Mao Zedung established the communist government that runs the powerful Asian nation even to this day.

Told that many Americans have a hard time understanding how the current communist government justifies the apparent contradiction of Chinese Internet giant Alibaba's selling its stock on the New York exchange, Du said there was no conflict. He said the concept of a "socialist market economic system" had existed in China since Chinese President Jiang Zemin introduced the concept in 1992.

Du then chided Americans for being so arrogant as to not know as much about Chinese history as the Chinese know about the United States' past. Arrogant was the right word, I thought, but in this case the label had been misapplied.

Harold Jackson