Exploring the cultural tensions and opportunities between China and the United States
In a conversation hosted by Wanda Wallace on her YouTube channel, she asks a direct question to her guest, Geshe Michael Roach:
“When we talk about China’s global tension with others, are we really talking about China vs. the West—or just China vs. the United States?”
Geshe Michael responds by shifting the perspective to language and population blocks. He identifies three major linguistic groups in the modern world:
- Around 1 billion people speak English (roughly 500 million as native speakers, and 500 million as a second language);
- Latin America represents another large group, with 600–700 million Spanish speakers;
- And then there’s the Chinese-speaking world, with about 1.5 billion people.
From this standpoint, Latin America is significant as a language block, but not yet strong enough economically to be counted as a global force. Europe, though large, is currently facing internal challenges and likely won’t play a dominant role for the next 5 to 10 years.
Because of that, Roach says, the main cultural collision today is not between China and “the West” in general—but specifically between China and the U.S.
And this clash isn’t just economic or political—it’s deeply cultural.
American culture, he explains, is very young, very brash, and highly freedom-loving. Chinese culture, on the other hand, is much older and structured differently. The differences can feel as sharp as a ship hitting an iceberg.
But, Roach adds, when American and Chinese companies take time to really understand each other’s cultures, the outcome is powerful. Businesses become “unbeatable” when their leadership respects both perspectives.
If nations could do the same—if China and the U.S. could work together—he believes it would lead to an entirely new kind of prosperity and peace that benefits the whole world.
