Cultural Similarities and Differences between China and The United States of

America

Qixin Zheng

George Brown College

Cultural Similarities and Differences between China and The United States of

America

The culture of a country is a necessary important part of its society and

population whether the country is an Asian developing country or a western

developed country. China is the largest country in the Asia; it not only refers Chinese

position and strength and also the rich and abundant culture and resources of China.

Besides, Chinese history goes back to one of the world’s earliest ancient civilization

and is the only one in the world to have a continuous recorded history of 5000 years.

The United States of America is the third largest country by size in the world. Also, it

is a vast and diverse nation, with many regions and subcultures that account for a

wide spectrum of cultural norms. China and the USA are two of the biggest and most

successful countries in the world; both of them are very similar in punctuality and

consensus, but at the same time, they are very different in social relationships and

communication styles of people.

One obvious difference is the social relationships of people. In China, people’s

social relationships are more formal, which like hierarchical interpersonal

relationship. For example, Chinese speak highly of filial piety, which is a typical

character of China. To some extent, it means that people have to respect and admit the

authority of parents, and most Chinese believe that parents are superior to their

children (Ping & Yan, 2013). In the contrast, social relationships of American are

more informal and equal than many other countries; and people are most comfortable

with their social equals. For instance, in American families, parents do not have the

absolute power, and the freedom and independence of children are very important in

their families. The relationships between parents and children more like friends,

which are more equal and independent (Ping & Yan, 2013).

The other obvious difference is communication styles. Most Chinese speak in an

indirect manner. For there are usually deeper meanings than what they said, and

sometimes the meaning maybe absolutely opposite to what they said. Since they are

considering the relationships with others. However, Americans prefer to speak in a

more direct informal manner, and meanwhile they are usually polite and friendly. For

example, Americans tend to give more generous compliments to others, and most of

time, they say what they are meaning directly. The difference is also obvious in the

essay styles of these two countries. In the USA, people usually place their main ideal

in the introduction paragraph and repeat in the conclusion paragraph, but in China,

people mostly give their examples first and place the main ideal in the conclusion

paragraph.

In spite of those differences, these two