LAC director Florian Schneider cited in NBC news article on U.S. Embassy social media post

The U.S. Embassy in Beijing posted an image of a dog trying to escape over the top of a gate, accompanied by the text “Spring has come and the flowers are in bloom. Are you like this dog who can’t wait to go out and play?”. It was meant to invite Chinese students to resume applying for U.S. visas after an easing of some pandemic barriers between the two countries, but received fierce criticism after it was seen as likening Chinese students to dogs.

Schneider argued that “Small missteps like this tweet can quickly be read as part of a systemic disregard for China’s place in the world today”. He added that Chinese wariness that the U.S. was out to prevent its emergence as a great power, might have incited the backlash. Click here to read the article.