US expats share their China stories, seek friendly cultural exchanges

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Brian Linden from the US, who lives in Southwest China's Yunnan Province, traveled to Laos with his wife in late February. He told the Global Times that in the past, it would take eight hours to travel from Vientiane, the capital of Laos, to Luang Prabang Province, a place rich in UNESCO World Heritage Sites. However, thanks to the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the high-speed train built by China, it now only takes less than two hours to make the journey. In Laos, the train is inspiring groups of young entrepreneurs to look beyond Vientiane and pursue business opportunities along the train line.

The year 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of BRI. Linden said China's investment in neighboring countries has inspired many local people. By investing in their infrastructure, China is helping to boost their economies and is providing them with hope.

"If China were not to do that, I don't believe there were any other countries waiting outside the door of Laos to say 'we're going to do this and help you.' So in that regard, I felt very, very proud of my adopted home [China]," he said.

Linden first came to China to study in 1984 and he was amazed by China's economic development and profound culture. In 2004, he returned to China with his family. He later settled down in Xizhou township, Yunnan Province, and founded the Linden Centre, or "Xilinyuan," to welcome guests from all over the world while preserving local cultural traditions. Since Linden has been in China for 38 years, his wife likes to call him "Mr Egg," as she jokes that he is white on the outside and yellow on the inside. Linden said he hopes that "Xilinyuan" can act as a platform to promote China-US cultural exchanges and eliminate communication ­barriers between China and the Western world.

According to Linden, the way Americans see China has changed over the past four decades. They have gone from inclusiveness to reticence to fear.

China has grown in geopolitical relevance, a fact that is difficult for the existing order to accept. However, he believes China's voice on the world stage will continue to grow.

"In this regard, we should focus on our commonalities and not allow our views to become too extreme," he said. "Many Americans respect China, and many Chinese respect America. We need to continue to promote cultural and educational exchanges and business ties between our countries. 'Xilinyuan' is trying to bridge the divides between China and the outside world. "

He pointed out that China suffers from a soft power deficit compared with the US, as Starbucks, Apple products, Michael Jackson, Coca Cola are nearly everywhere, which underlines the US soft power.

Without a flourishing soft power foundation to offset the media's critiques, the narrative about China is limited, he said, as he believes that China needs to continue to expose the world to its traditional wisdom and charm.

"We need to define who we are as a people and not allow the Western media to do this. It is important for foreigners who have experienced China to share the reality of this country with the outside world as they have a more nuanced view of this country. They can offset the negative stories being shared with personal experiences about the many positive aspects of China's recent development," he said.

The most common response Linden gets from his foreign guests is "we never knew that China was like this." Usually they are talking about the warmth and hospitality of the people. China's greatest soft power resource is its people, and China needs to create more opportunities for authentic interaction between all Chinese people and the world, Linden said.

­Recently, Linden has been promoting his new book One ­Village at a Time across China. He told the Global Times that an English version would be published overseas as well.

"Because of geopolitical issues, I think it is necessary to go out and share this. My role is to promote continued interaction between the peoples of China and the US. I need to share the authentic stories about China that too often go untold. These stories are as valid and important as the political posturing that occurs at the governmental level," he said.

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