Nevertheless, I am still very aware of being an American in China (despite being married to a Chinese--who is herself a U.S. citizen--and being able to speak Chinese). For one thing, I look rather different from the locals, which not infrequently causes people to ask my country of origin. In addition, there are all the cultural differences that are almost impossible to avoid. Consequently, perhaps because I do stand out as an American, I have had over the years a number of interesting conversations with Chinese people that revealed their perspectives toward the U.S. Perhaps not surprisingly, sometimes those viewsare negative, but not always.
As an example of a negative perpective, I recall a conversation I had with a Beijing cabby a few years ago. After I had gotten into the taxi, the driver asked me (in Chinese) where I was from. When I responded that I was from the U.S., his response was something like this: "I don't like your country's president [George W. Bush at the time]. I am for peace." This was obviously a reference to the situation in Iraq. I'm not sure why he thought this was an appropriate way to start a friendly conversation--I couldn't help thinking later how he would have felt if, during g visit to the U.S., an American cabbie had told him he didn't like China's president! Nevertheless, I wasn't totally surprised by his response. It reflected a not uncommon view of the U.S. as some sort of militaristic power cynically intervening in other countries' affairs for its own benefit (one of my students once told me the real reason the U.S. invaded Iraq was for the oil--I told her some Americans shared her view!). Such a perspective, I suspect, has its origins in the official media and perhaps even the educational system.
On the other hand, as an example of a more positive view, I recall another conversation. A number of years ago, I had a part-time job teaching a conversational English class at a Chinese trade association headquartered in Beijing. One day, I asked the students each to talk about someone he or she admired. One man's response rather surprised me. To the best of my recollection, he said that he admired the Founding Fathers of the U.S. because of the political system they created. I doubt that perspective came from the Chinese media or the educational system! Needless to say, I was rather touched by his words.
In short, it's not really possible to generalize about Chinese views of the U.S. They seem to vary with the individual and the sources of information he or she has (and wbat he or she is inclined to believe or disbelieve). Regardless, it can be quite interesting to see "how others see us."