How can we explain worsening attitudes toward China in many corners of the globe? What concepts, ideas, and events form the basis for this declining public approval? And have China’s efforts to project soft power been effective?

Some 200 participants from around the globe gathered online on Feb 27 to grapple with these complex questions in the NYU Shanghai Provostial Distinguished Lecture by Xie Yu, Bert G. Kerstetter '66 University Professor of Sociology at Princeton University.

Xie’s talk, “Global Attitudes towards China: Social Facts and Interpretations,” focused on research methodology and preliminary findings for four projects examining how social identity, economics, media representation, and even the severity of localized COVID-19 outbreaks have interacted to create public opinion data that Xie termed “shocking and worrisome.” 

For the full feature, please visit NYU Shanghai.