The Chinese Communist Party invested over $40 billion in stadiums and infrastructure for the Beijing Olympics, and lost billions more by shutting down factories in the hopes of curbing Beijing’s notorious pollution. Did the investment pay off? What impact did increased exposure to China during the Olympics have on American attitudes towards China? A pair of surveys provides a few clues towards an answer.
Peter Hays Gries is the Harold J. & Ruth Newman Chair and Director of the Institute for US-China Issues at the University of Oklahoma. He is author of China's New Nationalism, co-editor of State and Society in 21st-Century China. His work focuses on nationalism, the political psychology of international affairs, and China's domestic politics and foreign policy.