“Lin-sanity’s” Revelation about US-China Relations: Winners Gain Respect

Jeremy Lin has transformed from a bench player to the New York Knick’s star point guard and has helped the Knicks secure eight wins out of nine games, attracting worldwide attention.

Indeed, no one can resist the charm of Jeremy Lin. His story has shattered the stereotypes and set off a whirlwind in the United States. In China, “Lin-sanity” has also become the focus of much attention. Lin jerseys sold out from store shelves in a frantic rush, and now even knockoffs are hard to find. Hundreds of millions of microblogs are extensively discussing Jeremy Lin.

Lin’s performance on the court has inadvertently formed a link between the people of the United States and China. With Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping just concluding his trip to the U.S., can Jeremy Lin help bring U.S.-China relations to a higher level?

The likelihood is low. There are two reasons. First, Lin’s grandparents previously lived in Taiwan, while Lin himself was born and grew up in Palo Alto, California. This background is inescapably awkward for China. Second, although Xi Jinping received a high standard of hospitality during his visit to the United States, the parties have not reached an important consensus, which shows that U.S.-China relations will face difficulties in the future. The U.S. expresses many grievances to China, including economics, security, international affairs and societal issues. And the Chinese government is worried that the U.S. is shifting its strategic focus toward Asia for the purpose of containing China. They are also worried about the U.S.’s consistently uncontrolled spending. Although it hasn’t been stated, Chinese leaders already view the U.S. as a country in decline and believe that criticisms of China are only meant to obstruct its rise. The United States should spend some effort on solving their own problems.

Perhaps the biggest revelation to come from “Lin-sanity” is in the way it demonstrates the logic in China’s favorable treatment of winners. If you cannot be a winner, China will politely disregard you. The Chinese media’s recent pursuit of Jeremy Lin is similar to that of another Chinese athlete: tennis player Li Na. In order for Li Na to be able to select her own coach, and also receive more competition prize money, in 2008 she elected to “fly solo”. In 2011, Li Na became the first Asian champion of the French Open, and Chinese media began to praise her as “The Queen of the French Open” and “The Pride of China”.

The experiences of these sports stars give us a political revelation: counting on beating China with criticism is not suitable for U.S.-China relations. Only through competition, and achieving victory, can you win the respect and cooperation of China.