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China-US relations are at their worst point in decades. From Huawei to TikTok, from Covid-19 dispute to trade feud, from Hong Kong to South China Sea, the United States is lashing out at China on almost all fronts. But who is shouldering the unbearable weight of a souring China-US relationship?

Asian Americans: Scapegoats of the Covid-19 Blame Game 

US President Donald Trump unashamedly referred to Covid-19 as the "Chinese virus" and "kung flu",which did nothing but encourage widespread racial stereotypes and actual harm towards Chinese communities inside and outside the US. Rough calculations show Trump used "Chinese virus" or other discriminatory terms correlating China with the virus on over 24 public occasions. US top government officials publicly made inflammatory Covid-related statements against China at least 31 times. This has given rise to racist behavior against Asian Communities in the US. "Get out of our country!" "Sanitize your hands, Chinese!" Horrifying anti-Asian sentiments frequent media headlines. A frontline Chinese American doctor was vilified at work, a Chinese senior lady was sprayed by hand-sanitizer on the street, Chinese passengers were approached and harassed by bullies on the subway...the list goes on. According to a Pew Research Center's recent study, 31% Asian adults have experienced racial slurs or jokes since the outbreak of the pandemic and 58% Asian Americans report increasing frequency of such behavior. Cited by New York Times, a coalition of civic rights group recorded over 2,100 xenophobic incidences against people of Asian descent in 15 weeks. 

Chinese Students in the US: Victims of the Spiraling US-China Tensions 

Graduate students from China attend the Columbia University Commencement ceremony in New York, the United States, May 22, 2019.

American Think Tank MarcoPolo of the Paulson Institution found that China contributes 29% of undergraduates and is the largest source of top-tier researchers in the US. Representing the country's single largest foreign student population, there are approximately 370,000 Chinese students in the US. As the US warns of self-inflicted national security threats posed by Chinese students majoring in STEM, random interrogations and body searches or confiscation of personal belongings of Chinese students carried out by US law enforcement agencies have ramped up. Chinese students and scholars in the US are now facing increasing cases of inconveniences, harassment or risks of visa revocation, unwarranted detention or coercive deportation.  

Houston: The "Cannon Fodder" of a Political Agenda

In a recent diplomatic escalation, the abrupt closure of Chinese Consulate-General in Houston leaves Chinese expats in eight US southern states and Puerto Rico unprotected. China is Houston's second largest trading partners and more than 72,000 residents of Chinese descent live in greater Houston. The wide-reaching repercussions are not only the temporary cut-off of consular services, missed trading opportunities and potential economic loss in the region but more significantly the termination of another dialogue channel. US politicians has put their own political ambitions before the people of Houston. 

People: Fundamental Binding Force in an Unpredictable China-US Era

The Trump Administration makes full use of populism both in the cyberspace and the real world and fanatical worship fuels Trump Administration's advocate against China on all fronts. Biased hashtags and seditious rumors fan anti-Chinese sentiment across the Internet. The Echo Chamber Effect reinforces and perpetuates Trump's feverish followers' discrimination against the Chinese. The latest Pew research indicates 73% of American respondents held an unfavorable view of China. Americans' overall sentiment towards China hit record-low of 49.6 since the beginning of 2020.  

The Chinese and American people have always been the binding force holding the two nations together. It is the people who will take the full brunt of a souring China-US relationship. It is also the people who can navigate the two largest nations through difficult times and prevent the two from embarking on an uncharted course. They should not be victimized by US politicians' political agenda but allowed to play their due role in facilitating bilateral communications in an unpredictable China-US era.