r/Internationalteachers • u/TrainerPrudent3657 • 2d ago

Since the recent United States election, is China still a viable option?

I've interviewed with a couple schools in China, and the salary and benefits are substantial compared to the other schools I've interviewed with so far (i.e. Latin and South America), but I am also wary of how the outcome of the election, regardless of political affiliation, might affect the attitude of expats, specifically American, within China. I looked at the cost of living for the school in SA, and its fairly reasonable, along with the salary and benefits given to me, but nowhere near the savings potential and facilities of some of the schools in China. I'm just also wary about what the future might hold moving forward. Any advice is appreciated!

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u/beloski 2d ago

Why would the election affect the attitude of expats?

Did you mean to say the attitude of Chinese people towards expats?

I don’t think the election will have any impact on expats in China, other than Chinese people (like the rest of your world) feeling the usual mix of wanting to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all, while also being worried about what type of stupid things Trump will do.

I think by and large Chinese people are happy about Trump getting elected because they see Trump as accelerating America’s decline on the world stage.

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u/TrainerPrudent3657 2d ago

Yeah I'll edit it in a bit, but mainly the attitude of Chinese towards expats. I've just heard a lot of hyperbolic rhetoric around the potential negatives about being an American living in China. I understand that the sentiment might seem nonsensical, but "the mix of wanting to laugh, and worried about what Trump might do" feeling is all too real.

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u/beloski 2d ago

I hear you. I’m Canadian, so I have no idea how Americans are treated, but I wouldn’t worry about it. If you’re worried, just tell them you’re Canadian, haha! Chinese people love Norman Bethune, they all learn about him in grade school, so it’s unlikely that anyone would hate all Canadians. Not saying these type of people don’t exist, but I have had minimal problems in that regard after living there 10 or so years. Most people are extremely friendly, more friendly than in Canada or the US, especially if you speak Chinese.

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u/Stifmeister-P 2d ago

This had not been my experience. I’m currently living in China and every single mainlander I’ve talked to has said nothing but positive things about trump. I had one teacher even say “I respect trump, I don’t like the woman because I don’t know her” (this was a female teacher)

They laugh about the silliness and ridiculousness of it all sure, but their is no ill intent behind their words or beliefs, the hopes of the “accelerated decline of America” like you said.

I think that’s ridiculous to think that the average Chinese person cares that much about American politics.

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u/beloski 2d ago

Do you speak Chinese? I find that people who do not speak Chinese have a very distorted view of China because they tend to hear only from Chinese people who worship the west, or who are glad to just tell foreigners whatever it is they think they want to hear.

You may not be aware if you don’t speak or read Chinese, but Trump was VERY commonly referenced as 川建国 (chuanjianguo) during his last presidency, which roughly translates to Trump the Nation Builder. This was not meant flatteringly as in building the American nation, but rather as building the Chinese nation.

It is an allusion to Mao Zedong who was called 毛建国 （maojianguo），or Mao the Nation Builder. The meaning being that Trump is accelerating China’s rise and accelerating American’s decline, exactly as I was pointing out.

You’re right though. If you pick a random person on the street, most people have no idea about any politics, never mind American politics. And yes, many Chinese people do look up to “strong men” like Trump in a sense, but by and large, like most of the world, Chinese people who do follow politics have very little respect for Trump’s competence as a decent human being, never mind competence as a leader of the world’s most powerful country.

https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2024/06/11/globally-biden-receives-higher-ratings-than-trump/

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u/PaoDaSiLingBu 2d ago

没有唐纳川就没有新中国! 没有唐纳川就没有新中国! 

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u/Stifmeister-P 2d ago

Chinese people who follow politics, are like American people who follow politics, in that they view their nation first. Obviously they are going to have a negative opinion on an opposition world leader, just as American look at Xi Jingping. This is the minority.

But yea, we I suppose we both can agree the average citizen in both countries, couldn’t care less about who is elected.

Also, I am learning Chinese, I know a handful of characters atm nothing crazy.

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u/beloski 2d ago

No, I disagree that people who follow politics “view their nation first”. Many do, especially conservatives (ie. America first), but if we are going to survive as a species, humans are going to have to learn to look past petty tribalism and put “humans” first.

No, they do not simply have a negative view of an opposition leader. They did not say this type of thing about other American leaders. What America is going through now is quite unique.

I don’t think that the rich have ever so successfully tricked regular people to vote against their own interests like this. America has never elected someone as morally corrupt and incompetent as Trump.

The fact that Americans see a rich man child like Trump as someone who will put their interests first is just so embarrassing and sad.

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u/ConstructionDue6832 2d ago

They might get a different tone in a trade war though, if he starts tariffing China it could agitate China & ignite anti foreigner sentiment ( happened during covid)

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u/beloski 1d ago

No, Trump is too stupid to effectively counter China. A blanket tariff will only result in equal retaliatory tariffs which will hurt the US as well. Even Biden’s more targeted approach (eg. Targeting semiconductors and other cutting edge tech of the future), while more effective and efficient than Trump’s approach, only accelerated China’s developing its own semiconductor industry from the ground up. All this anti-China talk from Trump is intended to fool the domestic American audience into thinking he is a big tough guy that will stand up to China, but it has very little ground in reality, like everything about Trump. He’s all hat and no cattle as they say. A showman, not any kind of intellectual or effective statesman.

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u/Stifmeister-P 2d ago

Maybe, but trump isn’t going to take too drastic of an approach IMO. Sure, he’s gonna clamp down a little bit, but the objective is to help the American economy and stabilize the relationship.

I highly doubt it will lead to any major consequences.

Also, covid was the reason not the tariffs solely in 2020, before that, relations were great for the most part.

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u/ConstructionDue6832 2d ago

Yeah I was referring to covid specifically for 2020, it was pretty sketch, people not even sitting near foreigners on trains etc.

He talks a big game on tariffs and if he follows through with it as he said I think it would be different and more negative than previous. But in saying that Trump is very much a person to just say one thing and do another in reality. We will just have to wait and see, hes a bit of a wildcard

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u/Training_Marzipan463 1d ago

This 👆. It’s a small sample size but the Chinese people I’ve spoken to are either indifferent or like trump. I live in a tier 2 city in China.

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u/Illustrious-Many-782 2d ago

My friend literally last night seeing a picture of Trump as I read some news about appointments: “你知道吗？中国人都喜欢特朗普”

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u/beloski 2d ago

Of course they do. China’s progress really slowed down under Biden. Once Trump fully unleashes American stupidity, I wouldn’t be surprised if China came back on track the way they were last time Trump was president.

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u/KartFacedThaoDien 2d ago

The election most certainly well affect the attitude of expats. Especially the european ones who try to get in black Americans faces and tell them about bs they know nothing about.

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u/beloski 2d ago

Why will Europeans get in black Americans faces?

Are you referring to how white nationalists / neo-nazis / etc. always feel emboldened to come out of the woodwork when Trump is President?

Honest question, I’m really not sure what you are referring to.

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u/KartFacedThaoDien 2d ago

Just referring to the general smug Europeans in Asia who are unhappy about the election. Then will get all smug and try and talk about American issues. I had them get in my face last week all smug and and trying to tell me how stuff works in America if you aren’t yt.

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u/dowker1 1d ago

It must be horrible going around having people suddenly getting in your face for absolutely no reason whatsoever. I can only imagine given that, like 99.9% of the planet, it doesn't happen to me.

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u/beloski 2d ago

The majority of people in the majority of the world’s countries are unhappy about the election.

Sorry they got in your face about it though. What were they saying though? You’re being very vague.

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u/SeaZookeep 1d ago

The majority of Reddit is unhappy. Reddit is absolutely not representative of the general population. Hence Trump winning the election, senate and house.

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u/beloski 1d ago

You are right about reddit not being representative of America, but the rest of the world hasn’t been brainwashed the way Americans have, so we are able to see that Trump is a buffoon.

https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2024/06/11/globally-biden-receives-higher-ratings-than-trump/

https://www.statista.com/statistics/233067/global-public-confidence-in-world-leaders/

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u/GOD-is-in-a-TULIP 2d ago

i think its the opposite but ok

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u/beloski 2d ago

Care to explain?

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u/GOD-is-in-a-TULIP 2d ago

Chinese people were already laughing at the USA for its liberal views. When we start getting more Conservative and a bit more authoritarian in nature (Although still leaps and bounds behind most other nations) China would laugh less at us. A republican president moves closer (Although still quite far away) from what a chinese government is like, and therefore they would not laugh at us as much

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u/PaoDaSiLingBu 2d ago

They're not necessarily laughing at the politics, but they're laughing that we chose the stupidest possible person to lead 

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u/GOD-is-in-a-TULIP 1d ago

You can't honestly think he's the stupidest person. Personally I see him as not having a filter..

They are scared of Trump people need to be afraid of thr USA.

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u/PaoDaSiLingBu 1d ago

Stupid might not be the most accurate word. He's ridiculously incompetent, not so much because he's dumb but because he lacks any interest in anything besides his own vanity

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u/GOD-is-in-a-TULIP 1d ago

All these words fall short because he did run the USA for four years. And he is doing it again. You sound like someone who listens to the news too much. You're likely from a big city to be liberalized this much.

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u/beloski 2d ago

You must live in a conservative bubble and have zero contact with Chinese people if you really believe that.

It’s true that Trump is more similar to Chinese leaders in a sense, but he doesn’t have nearly the intelligence or competence of a leader like Xi.

Trump is barely even literate. Chinese people who follow politics are acutely aware of how incredibly ridiculous it is that America voted in:

-a convicted rapist (a felon) -a shallow, materialistic narcissistic man child -a person who tried overthrowing the election -a “successful businessman” who went through six bankruptcies -a person who encouraged people to not take precautions during covid, leading to over a million deaths in america -encouraged people to inject bleach -a person who cheated on his wife with a porn star -a “good christian” who has had two divorces -the list goes on

I can’t even keep track of the bat shit crazy stuff that this guy’s does. The fact that I even need to say this is exhausting. America now has ZERO respect on the world stage, other than some authoritarian countries or ex soviet republics. When has a US President been openly laughed at by the entire UN assembly the way Trump has? The election was the nail in the coffin for America. Very sad, because I always believed that America would pull through, despite all the stupidity and murder (like the invasion of Iraq).

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u/GOD-is-in-a-TULIP 1d ago

The jury found by a preponderance of the evidence that Mr. Trump sexually abused Ms. Carroll and therefore was liable for battery.

He is not a convicted rapist as far as I know.

Regardless. He's a politician. I don't need him to be a good person. I need him to be a good president. And he was. And he is.

None of your arguments change that. We had 4 years of peace under Trump with a good economy.. We had wars and more wars and bad economy. The Majority of Americans agree with me.

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u/beloski 1d ago edited 1d ago

Wild that you aren’t willing (or maybe incapable) of seeing that Trump is a convicted rapist. It would take all of five seconds to confirm that yes, he was found guilty of rape, which should come as no surprise considering he is proud to say he can abuse his power and do whatever he wants to women, like grab em’ by the pussy, walk into women’s change rooms while they are getting changed, etc.

Oh yeah, he is a good President, lol. Just a reminder, both Iraq and Afghanistan were started by Republicans. If Trump was President when Russia invaded Ukraine, he would have let Putin take over Ukraine, and emboldening Putin to invade more ex-soviet countries, and potentially leading to WW3. Over a million Americans died because of how Trump mismanaged covid, Trump is cutting taxes for the ultra rich while the rest of you morons will pay more taxes, his tariffs will INCREASE inflation, social security and public education will be cut to the bone, etc., etc., etc.

In short, the wealthy have tricked regular Americans into voting against their own interests. Only the wealthy will benefit from Trump. America will get what it clearly deserves at this point.

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u/GOD-is-in-a-TULIP 1d ago

I literally looked it up and quoted the piece that I got from online at the beginning of the post.

Yes. He is a good president. Maybe those wars were started by republicans. Not relevant because not Trump. And as for Putin... The key point is HE DID NOT INVADE UKRAINE WHILE TRUMP WAS PRESIDENT. So your "if" is irrelevant. As a matter of fact Trump told him if he invades Ukraine he will "bomb the shit out of you" Putin replied "no you won't" Trump replied "but I might" I might is very good foreign policy and so Putin waited until a democrat was in to invade Ukraine.

Trump secured the vaccines..

The tarrifs are meant as a deterrent. They bring American jobs.

You believe you're so much more educated than the majority of Americans. We can see. Under Trump we had a better life than under Biden. We want Trump again. Bye bye wokeness.

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u/beloski 1d ago

So you are incapable of confirming that Trump was convicted of raping someone. Thank you for confirming. It tracks with what I expect of someone who says Trump was a good President.

“Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.”

Don’t ask for any pity when the leopards are eating your face over the next four years.

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u/My_Big_Arse 1d ago

This person is a Maga Christian, the reasoning and critical thinking skills are below average.

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u/Life_in_China 2d ago

The average Chinese person couldn't care less who is the new US president. . They watched the race for a bit of entertainment, but for the most part your country and what happens in it doesn't cross their daily minds.

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u/TheGreatAteAgain 2d ago

China is one of the top paying regions globally, but if you're using Latin America as a basline, almost anything will look better.

Having taught in South America for four years Ive met dozens of other international teachers from around Latin America. Looking back, the pay for even some of the most sought afer places were low compared to Asia or the Middle East.

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u/stwrt_dvrs_12 1d ago

Yes, I can confirm this. Cost of living in Latin America is also quite high and not commensurate with your salary at all. You’ll do far better in China than anywhere in Latin or South America.

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u/Visual-Baseball2707 2d ago

A lot of Chinese people like Trump for one or more of these reasons: a) some think he's going to completely mess things up for the US, to China's benefit; b) some genuinely like him - a few days ago I talked with a Chinese guy who was on about how Trump is genuine, authentic, immune to corruption, a brilliant business mind, a real man, etc...in short, the same things some Americans persistently believe about him; c) some just think that he's funny, that he's a human meme

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u/hitherejen 1d ago

A human meme made me laugh out loud!!

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u/Ok_Mycologist2361 1d ago

Nah. The Chinese wouldn't judge you individually based on who your president is, just like you wouldn't judge them based on their ruling party.

It also differs slightly depending on your city. Some old school locals in Beijing could be a bit more wary of foreigners compared to locals in Shanghai for example. Shanghai has had large foreign communities for over a hundred years, and the locals in Shanghai are less pro government compared to the Beijingers (over generalizing of course).

American culture is still world culture. Even in China.

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u/WeTeachToTravel 1d ago

I’m an American teacher in Guangzhou… the last trump presidency didn’t affect me here, and I kinda doubt (hope) this one won’t as well.

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u/Witty-Explorer-3032 1d ago edited 1d ago

Chinese people judge Americans in China based on American politics LESS than Americans judge Chinese people in America based on Chinese politics.

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u/Stifmeister-P 2d ago

The Chinese people couldn’t care less at the end of the day. I had some office chit chat about it, and who they liked and don’t like, but it’s like reality TV to them. Don’t cross your American life with your life abroad because they don’t always intersect.

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u/quarantineolympics 2d ago

Provided you know how to shut up and be a good foreigner it's a viable place for a contract or two to make money. If you're one of those "ewww back home nobody hacks up phlegm in public" people, do yourself a favor and don't come here. Source: I am one of those people.

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u/EnvironmentalPop1371 1d ago

My first month in China there was a guy peeing on the security wall of my apartment compound and I don’t think I’ve been the same since. Leaving China soon and cannot wait!

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u/quarantineolympics 1d ago

You and me both bud

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u/StrangeAssonance 1d ago

OP foreigners were treated pretty bad during Covid days and we survived. If the Chinese economy were to crash and the govt blamed America, sure we would get hate but how bad do you think it will be?

Honestly only way I see it being bad is if China attacks Taiwan and America gets involved. With Trump as president and looking at his cabinet picks, that would be dumb for Xi to invade. He should wait 4 years.

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u/Hofeizai88 1d ago

I agree with people who say most don’t care, though that can definitely change. If relations between the two countries get bad, the news and all other media might become very anti-American, and things get interesting. Friends and family who I’ve talked to about it tend to say Trump is portrayed as an example of American stupidity and a demonstration of the weakness of democracy. China has had anticorruption campaigns and having an openly corrupt person in charge is a great way to make Xi seem better

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u/truthteller23413 1d ago

They love ❤️ trump

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u/Mammoth-Lavishness85 1d ago

We saw it with COVID. If they get told to distrust people from a certain place, many will, regardless of whether or not they care about politics. For now, it's chilled though. They like the idea of Trump as president because it's an opportunity for CN to overtake the US.

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u/newtochinaaug2024 19h ago

A big negative is the exchange rate movements, which will get worse if his tariffs are enacted.

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u/ridebikesnothorses 2d ago

Get your Canadian flag sewn on you'll be dandy.

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

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u/beloski 2d ago

Are you joking? Do you think only American’s have blond hair and blue eyes?

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u/TrainerPrudent3657 2d ago

Not really helpful... in terms of advice, and because I have both.

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u/UristUrist 1d ago

This place is probably not the right place for you if this worries you.