US should look at itself before setting its sights firmly on others

Ilove the Chinese noodles at a place in Midtown Manhattan. But whenever I eat there, I try to eat them as quietly as possible, because slurping is regarded as unacceptable in the United States. In Chinese and Japanese culture, slurping is not only acceptable but regarded as a sign that the noodle or ramen is delicious. To me, biting mouthfuls of noodles, as people in the US do instead of slurping, is painful.

On the other hand, nose-blowing at the dinner table, viewed as bad manners in China, is common even in fine restaurants in the US. It is hard to understand why folks blow as hard as they can.

The comparison is reminiscent of the frequent finger-pointing at China by many in the US. China’s behavior has often been described as “disruptive,” “provocative,” and a “challenge to the status quo and global order” while the US proclaims it is trying to keep peace and stability around the world.

China’s launch of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank was depicted by many in the US as a challenge to the existing global system, in particular the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, despite the fact that heads of the two banks, plus the International Monetary Fund, all welcomed the new addition due to the acute shortage of infrastructure financing in the region.

If China had done any of these things, US officials, news media and some pundits would be having a field day orchestrating a new smear campaign against China.