Review the influence of Western culture in China, noting that this report first aired in February 2012. In a half-page essay, discuss how the Chinese people are dealing with the influence of Western culture. Consider and respond to the following questions: How has China reacted to the influence of Western culture? How do the Chinese people view Western culture compared to how the Chinese government views it? Has China completely rejected or accepted Western culture? Or is the reality somewhere in between? Also, how do you think China is likely to handle Western culture in the future, in terms of rejecting or accepting the foreign influences?

China has incorporated many parts of Western culture into their lives. For example, westerners introduced "modern transportation and communications [and] created an export market." I think that Chinese people like the influences of Western culture much better than the Chinese government views it. For example, many Chinese people have smartphones, wear blue jeans, and get food from fast food restaurants. Kathleen Mclaughlin informs, "From clothes to coffee, to food and movies, Western culture is big and getting bigger in China. KFC is the country's most popular restaurant chain. A Buick is the top selling car ... Now the government is pushing back. President Hu Jintao says China's culture is being infiltrated by hostile Western forces. And the government has set new limits on Chinese mass media. First, they issued edicts that killed some racy and wildly popular TV shows and pushed other out of prime time." I think that as the world continues to advance, China is more likely to accept Western culture rather than reject it, because all cultures are growing and incorporating foreign influences into their daily lives.

In the 19th century, after a long period of isolationism, China and then Japan came under pressure from the West to open to foreign trade and relations. The Industrial Revolution in Europe and the United States had created a wide gap between them and the West, leaving the two Asian nations behind technologically and military.