One China Diplomat's Reply To U.S. Critics: Visit And For Yourself

Forbes

29-03-2025

Barely a day goes by without a prominent U.S. politician criticizing China. This month, a scathing book by Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton – 'Seven Things You Can't Say About China' – reached the New York Times Best Sellers List. Setting the tone for the 192-page publication, the first chapter is called 'China Is an Evil Empire.'
One senior Chinese diplomat in the U.S. had a spirited response to the country's critics last week, especially those that haven't spent time there: Visit the place yourself.
People who go to the country 'will not give this kind of worst a definition of China as evil,' Chinese Consul General in New York Chen Li said in an interview with Forbes China. 'When they come back, they will say China is not what the media describes… It's absolutely a different world.'
Certainly China this month has been visited by a Who's Who of American business elite attending a development conference in Beijing. They include Apple's Tim Cook, FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam, Cargill CEO Brian Sikes, Medtronic CEO Geoffrey Martha, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon, according to media reports.
And from the world of politics, there was also Senator Steve Daines of Montana, an ally of President Donald Trump, who was in Beijing to try to pave the way for a meeting between the U.S. leader and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. 'This visit is the first step to arrange and set up the next step, which will be a very important meeting between President Xi and President Trump — when that occurs, I don't know, where it occurs, I don't know,' Daines said in a New York Times interview.
China attaches importance to meetings with U.S. leaders and would welcome a gathering with Trump, Chen said. 'The personal relations between the heads of states is very important,' he noted. 'We hope this kind of exchange of visits will continue.'
Chen also said, however, that such a meeting 'is not just to say hello, shake hands and have a kind of cup of tea.' Rather, 'there should be some outcomes, achievements, and set a tone to the future relations.'
'Is it the atmosphere now? We don't know,' said Chen, citing mixed U.S. signals.
Visiting China is in theory much easier now for most Americans after a change in visa policies late last year. The country starting on Dec. 17 said it would expand a visa-free transit policy by allowing U.S. citizens with an onward ticket to a third country or region to stay to 10 days.
That doesn't mean anyone can get in. Then-Senator Marco Rubio, for instance, was banned in 2020 for criticizing China's policies toward Uyghurs; journalists face visa rules that are different from tourists. The eased transit visa rules can't hide geopolitical differences between Washington and Beijing over Taiwan and the South China Sea, as well as over economic policies and spying, among other disputes.
And yet China remain impossible to ignore as a big U.S. economic partner, a global force as the world's No. 2 economy, a major military power and the globe's second most-populous nation. U.S. supply chains for industries for everything from autos to pharmaceuticals run through the country; millions of Americans regularly use and enjoy China-controlled social site TikTok and e-commerce platform Temu. Just this week, Chinese auto giant BYD made headlines around the world by topping Tesla in launching time-saving EV battery charger technology, while Tesla CEO Elon Musk was distracted with his high-profile political role in Washington.
Chen, 57, started his first-ever U.S. posting last October, succeeding Huang Ping who held the position for six years. It's an important role for China: about half of 4.7 million Chinese Americans live in the states of New York and California as of 2022, according to a recent report by Pew Research, citing U.S. Census Bureau data.
Having previously held five jobs in Europe including Ambassador to Finland, Chen said he has been surprised in his U.S. travels to discover a curiosity about China, and believes more people-to-people ties would help relations. 'When we meet ordinary people, they are so curious about China,' Chen said. There 'are two perceptions to China from the American side: the people and politicians. So why it is so separate and divided?' Cotton's book – and other scathing criticism of China's Communist Party – remind the diplomat of frequent storylines in Hollywood: 'There needs to be an enemy,' Chen said.
One stabilizing factor between the two sides could be investment. When Chen calls on state and city governments, officials widely 'welcome Chinese investment coming there,' he said. One example is Fuyao Glass America in Ohio, where he visited this month. 'I hope to see more and more this kind of successful stories be made here in America,' Chen said. He was also upbeat about a Chinese program to encourage American college students to visit China.
And yet, Chen noted, the White House referred to China as an 'adversary' last month in a statement about its 'America First Investment Policy,' and has threatened restrictions on everything from trade to student enrollment. That part of the relationship will hurt investment confidence among Chinese businesses in the U.S., he said.
Chen's more upbeat observations are belied by polls that show American worries about relations with China. Pew Research, for instance, last year found that eight-in-ten Americans had an unfavorable view of the country.
If, as Chen hopes, more people-to-people outreach is the way to go, there's still a lot of work ahead.
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