The World

What is the cure for anti-Americanism in Europe? I have always thought that there is a one-word answer to that question – China.

And so it has come to pass. The FT-Harris poll released this week shows that a narrow majority of Europeans now regard China as the biggest threat to global stability – ahead of the United States. Of course, these kind of polls always reflect recent events. So the news out of Tibet – and, to a lesser extent, Darfur – will have hurt China’s image. Meanwhile the decline in coverage of the Iraq war – and the fact that the Bush administration is winding down – will help the US.

But I also think there is a bigger trend at work. It is natural – if not particularly noble – to resent the world’s sole superpower. But as it becomes clear that the only plausible challenger to American global hegemony is China, so Europeans are likely to remember that they have a lot more in common with the Americans than the Chinese – a democratic system, free speech etc etc…

The Chinese might also bitterly add that most Europeans and Americans also share one other trait – a white skin. Is there an element of racism in anti-Chinese feeling? Almost certainly. And that is why Europeans have to be very careful about not confusing legitimate criticism of the Chinese government with a generalised, old-fashioned fear of the “yellow peril”.