Friends noted nationalism went up steadily from 2015, the time of Wolf Warrior and Confucius Institute expansions. Then Xenophobia with COVID, for some blame,

Friends noted nationalism went up steadily from 2015, the time of Wolf Warrior and Confucius Institute expansions. Then Xenophobia with COVID, for some blame, but for many the system is blaming and in a country where taking accountability for a hot potato thrown to you means the hot potato of dealing with 'foreign' got passed to the lowest rung who could throw it no more - the residential security guard, or the food supplier coming up with the fanciful 'Covid blew across from North Korea into the restaurant'. But the same friends say Nationalism and Xenophobia, it is a topic that's been there enough to be a regular talking point, are now taking backseat as policy tools and are pre 2019 levels.