[bllguo]

yes, there is a widespread awareness that this is all realpolitik. in the western public, everything is a moral struggle between good and evil, where the west is the good guy de facto

to add on to this - far more chinese people visit the west than the other way around. many study english. there is significantly greater understanding of their counterpart's systems in china than in the US or europe. the US has trouble recruiting people who are even literate in mandarin, FFS, to say nothing about familiarity with the culture (even more incredibly, nobody questions reporting or analysis on china produced by these illiterate people!)