Beijing - Post Report Question and Answers
Is it easy to make friends with locals here? Are there any prejudices or any ethnic groups who might feel uncomfortable here?
See above. Regardless of your role/occupation in Beijing, there is an invisible boundary between local Chinese and any expatriate – particularly for Americans, although increasingly for other American-allied countries. Many foreigners of African and/or Asian ancestry (particularly Chinese ancestry) have reported incidents where they’ve experienced prejudice from the local community. - Nov 2024
No, the only Chinese people I've been able to get to know have been the local staff at the embassy and our ayi. Most people are very kind and polite, but it's not easy to move past initial courtesies, both because of the language barrier and because of the relationship between our countries. - Nov 2021
No. More than anywhere else? Maybe. The default in Beijing for everything is profiling. If you are white and male this is an advantage, if you are Asian and work in the diplomatic sector you will be stopped all the time by security personnel that want to know what the hell you are doing around foreign embassies. - Nov 2020
It is next to impossible to make friends with the locals. No matter how well you speak Mandarin, Chinese people will still see you as an outsider. The Embassy also has some security restrictions regarding fraternization. - Aug 2020
Locals are generally friendly and welcoming. However, being a diplomat in China is a unique assignment and may limit the extent to which one can integrate himself or herself into local networks. Many diplomats in China end up socializing with other expats rather than locals, at least more so than they might do in other countries. - Jul 2020
It is not easy to make local friends. - May 2020
