Buying a Piece of America: Why Chinese Shoppers Love U.S. Brands

This article in the Atlantic gives an interesting perspective on how Americans are viewed in China.  Author and advertiser Tom Doctoroff provides an excerpt from his book What Chinese Want: Culture, Communism and China's Modern Consumer.

• Americans can often carry a somewhat simplistic view of China and the Chinese people. Although apprehensive about the rise of this economic juggernaut and its impact on the American way of life, the images China casts are rooted in the past: dusty, robotic, gray, and ultraconformist.
• The Chinese, on the other hand, are fascinated by America, although often perplexed by its inherent contradictions. The United States is both free and unfair, creative and fashion challenged (some Chinese describe blue button-down shirts and khaki pants as our uniform), sporty and grossly overweight, institutionally robust and politically dysfunctional, individualistic and self-deluded (they love to laugh at narcissistic, talent-free American Idol contestants). They are amazed that a nation of 300 million self-starters does not come apart at the seams.