Thanks to Trump, Chinese people have a more realistic view of America

For much of the reform era, the United States occupied a special place in the Chinese imagination.

When I was growing up in China in the 1980s, the US – or meiguo, the “beautiful country” – was more than a country.

It was an idea.
Many Chinese, myself included, associated it with prosperity, freedom, scientific innovation and a functioning democracy.

Even those who disagreed with American foreign policy often admired its institutions and power.
That admiration survived many shocks: the Belgrade...