Don’t.

First of all, Chinese are not that well viewed abroad either, a lot of the Chinese tourists we get in Europe are the top earners kids and are entitled as fuck.

Secondly no one judges people from their country, sure there are a lot of obnoxious Americans and Chinese tourists, but I imagine that’s just survivor bias, you don’t notice the non obnoxious ones which I assume to be the majority.

Thirdly, and maybe most important, you won’t be able to do it. This question is proof that you think and act like an American, you have some ancestor who came from China so you think you’re Chinese-american, and that that somehow means you’re Chinese, but you grew in a different culture, eating different food, watching different TV shows, etc. In short, you are an American of Chinese ethnicity, you are not a Chinese who was born in America.

Do you want to know what’s one of THE most obnoxious bullshit American tourists do? Teaching Italians about Italy because they’re Italian-American, or thinking they know all about Ireland because the grandpa of their third-cousin once removed came from Ireland, so they’re Irish-American. Unless you spent a significant chunk of your life in China, especially during the formative years, you will not behave Chinese, you have an “Americanized” image of what a Chinese is, and at best you would have fooled someone who doesn’t care about your nationality as long as you treat them with respect. There’s a song that I think sums out this feeling https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq0_yCNSV-c it is a very common one, I’ve lived both in Italy and Ireland which is why I use them as examples, and every so often you’d get the X-American thinking they’re X, and you could tell them apart from across the street.

In most parts of the world neither Chinese nor Americans get trouble just for where they come from.

In most parts of the world people can decide very well between what governments do and what normal people do.

could I just pretend

But in most parts of the world people prefer very much if you DON’T lie to them.

You are good as long as you don’t act like you own the world, or like a Karen with a maga hat.

Most people in the world don’t hate Americans, they hate trump and his cronies.

You can expect comments or be asked about trump, ICE, the war and politics if you get recognised as an American.

I don’t know what you should do if you are going near: Iran, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Cuba…

As a Canadian… Americans pretend to be Canadians abroad all the time. As a result, everyone thinks I’m American at first, until they realize I behave differently.

I can usually spot the American in a crowd, no matter their skin colour. It’s generally in the worldview they project.

I can also usually spot the Chinese in the crowd for the same reason.

Unless you can fake the “We’re the best” attitude instead of the “nobody’s better than I can be” attitude, I wouldn’t try to fake being Chinese in many places. You’ll just come off as fake.

Better to just be yourself and hold the views and attitudes you actually hold. If you’re worried about how others will receive that, just be more private with the personal information you share.

People are going to clock that you aren’t Chinese, even if you look as one. Hard to describe, but Chinese tourists can be recognized apart from people of Chinese descendency but that growth up in other places.

China’s rep isn’t exactly great, either …

But if you’re from America (that’s where you grew up and live) then that’s what you should say, because that’s what matters. The obsession with “heritage” is weird.

If you can be respectful of the local culture where you’re visiting while you’re there, you’ll be fine. Being an obnoxious American tourist is just as bad as an obnoxious Chinese tourist. Outside of unwarranted xenophobia, your behaviour matters more than your race.

I find questions like these more and more upsetting. I’ve posted several articles on Lemmy and other platforms that show how the USA is rapidly sliding into a fascist state, the breakdown of democracy is horrifying, and also directly affects the wellbeing and security of the countries US Americans are visiting as tourists. And all the US tourists that come over here say: well, I didn’t vote Trump (which nobody can check, can we? We just have to believe it). We all know USAmericans are not particularly blessed with vacation days, but wouldn’t they be BETTER spent in creating political initiatives in the USA? By God, man, you may be lucky you can actually re-enter the USA when you come back, and if the midterms go topsy-turvy (and rest assured that Trump will do anything to make them come out in his favor), you may well be seeking asylum in Europe or Australia in 2 years time! So, instead of thinking about what kind of silly hat to wear abroad, stay home and do something, a couple of things against trump’s fascism (end of rant).

I tell people I’m from New Jersey. Always have. America has always been way, way too broad a term. I don’t feel any connection with people from Texas or California, certainly not any of the deep south. Shit, I barely feel a connection with people from Pennsylvania.

If they say “Huh, New Jersey?” I say I’m an hour from NYC, and then that usually keeps that discussion rolling in a nice way.

chinese national have a reputation for being really trashy(much like americans, israeli and some british tourists), so be warned, better of saying your canadian.

Do what the americans have always done…say you are a Canadian.

There’s another issue you’re not considering: will you be safe returning to the US?

I wouldn’t travel abroad while the Nazi regime is desperate for bodies to fill their camps. And I’m a white man. Shit, I’m not even stepping foot in an airport period until things improve.

Depending on where you’re going, you could probably get away by saying you’re Korean or Japanese. Much better than American or Chinese.

Not gonna lie this is funny as fuck.

If you said you were a Chinese national I’d say please don’t fucking feed the wildlife bro.

Interestingly if I see Americans abroad I usually assume they are far less likely to be the special ones

I heard that there are people who hate Chinese tourists… so is this actually gonna backfire?

I’ve been to a few touristy spots in my life and it is my experience that it is a fairly recent development that Chinese tourists have nudged American ones from the top spot in the annoying tourists category. So regardless which group you’ll pretend to be from, people will probably still find you annoying.

I totally get why you would want to pretend you’re not American these days to avoid questions about the orange, ICE, and the subtleties of international law. Do what feels right and works. I wouldn’t go as far as faking an accent but I wouldn’t hold it against you necessarily.