US President Barack Obama’s recent visit to China put the spotlight on Chinese attitudes to black people. Many Chinese were shocked and disbelieving that America could elect a black president. Yet China is reaching out to Africa and the Caribbean as never before, investing billions of dollars in the countries of those regions through trade and aid. But are the Chinese any less racist than the traditional white colonialists?

I personally have visited China and Hong Kong on a number of occasions and I have always been treated with courtesy. But other black people that I know who have visited China have recounted how the Chinese stare at them in the street. Is this simple curiosity or is there an underlying hostility?

From the early eighties, when African students could study for free in Beijing, there have been reports of discrimination against Africans. Just before the Beijing Olympics stories of racism surfaced again, with blacks being denied entry to bars.

Recently a mixed-race Chinese girl (her father is black) who won a Chinese television talent show, Go! Oriental Angel, was shocked at the racist remarks that her victory triggered. Angry Internet users called her a “black chimpanzee” and called for all blacks in China to be deported. The talent show victor, 20-year-old Lou Jing, said, “It’s sad. If I had a face that was half-Chinese and half-white, I wouldn’t have gotten that criticism. Before the contest, I didn’t realise these kinds of attitudes existed.”

A Nigerian businessman who has lived in China for five years told the American newspaper, The Washington Post, “Chinese don’t like Africans. They don’t like black skin. China trying to embrace Africa is a political statement. The question is, ‘How do they treat black people?'”

Other Africans living in China say that they often experience discrimination and police harassment.

Skin-whitening creams are very popular in China. It is a $100-million business. Chen Juan, a 27-year-old secretary, told the Washington Post, “For me, the whiter, the better. Being white means pretty. If someone looks too black, I feel they look countrified and like a farmer. Being white is prettier than being black. In my impression, black people, especially Africans, are not clean enough. To be frank, I just feel black people are too black. Definitely, I wouldn’t consider having a black guy as my boyfriend even if he were rich.”

Another 24-year-old girl said, “You know what they are doing here? They trade in drugs and girls. In their neighbourhood you can’t go out in the street at night. Too dangerous. Could I marry an African? Have you gone mad? No, inter-racial marriages between Chinese and Africans hardly ever happen or never. With Europeans, that’s a different story.”

But just as the election of Barack Obama has challenged assumptions of black inferiority in America itself, it may have the same effect in far-off China.