China’s youngest generation is often associated with hyper-nationalism. That oversimplifies their complex, individualized relationships with their country.
BY Brian Wong
China’s Gen-Z (defined loosely as individuals born after 1996) tends to be associated with images of ferocious, vocal, and unyieldingly nationalistic supporters of the country and regime.
In his incisive ethnography of China’s youth in the aftermath of the late 1980s era of brief political liberalization and contentious politics, Alec Ash remarks that “the newest Chinese youth, born in the 2000s, are also different, formed by a stronger and more nationalistic China” – though Ash caveats that “the diversity is still there.” Renowned IR expert and intellectual Yan Xuetong suggests that “post-millennial students usually have a strong sense of superiority and confidence, and they tend to look at other countries from a condescending perspective.”
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Global Impacts 