For decades, Americans bought inexpensive toys and clothes from Chinese factories while Chinese watched U.S. TV shows, studied English, and absorbed American culture. The script looks a little different now. Today, the United States is also absorbing high-quality cultural and consumer products from China—chart-topping games, advanced technologies in electronics and robotics, and viral apps. Rather than enjoy the two-way flow of cultures, both the U.S. and Chinese governments see the other’s cultural products as intrusions or even security threats. How did we get here? 

Our new series, Faultlines, examines the strategic differences between the United States and China. The two nations differ in how they see economic, military, cultural, and governance issues, but was this always the case?  By examining the view from both sides of the faultline, we can piece together how we got here and where we’re going next.     

Journalist Viola Zhou and Professor Dr. Zhifan Luo joined us in April and May 2025 (respectively) to explain why both governments see cultural issues as paramount to the security and future of the nation, and how ordinary citizens looking for entertainment can get caught in the clash. 

Viola Zhou

Viola Zhou is a senior reporter at Rest of World covering China. She has reported on Chinese tech, business, and internet culture for more than 10 years. Viola previously covered Chinese politics and society for Vice World News, and reported for the South China Morning Post from Hong Kong. She has won multiple SABEW and SOPA Awards for her reporting on Foxconn in India and Chinese pop culture. She is based in New York City.

Zhifan Luo

Dr. Zhifan Luo is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and the Wilson College of Leadership and Civic Engagement at McMaster University, Canada. Her research investigates the intricate interplay among digital technologies, political power, and civil society. Dr. Luo’s research has been funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Her work has appeared in journals such as New Media & Society, Information, Communication & Society, China: An International Journal, Journal of Political Power, and Armed Forces & Society. She received her doctorate in sociology from the State University of New York at Albany.