Trump Is Coming to a China That Has Moved On

Mr. Dreyer, an American editor and writer, wrote from Shanghai.

When I first moved to Shanghai from Virginia in 2008, China still looked up to America. Much of what China did, how it saw itself, what it strove for and its place in the world was measured against “Meiguo” — the “beautiful country” — as America is known in Chinese.

Fresh out of college, I had no work experience. But just being American was enough. I landed jobs at top high schools and universities where I taught classes such as Western culture. But there wasn’t really a curriculum. All the schools and students seemed to want was........

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