Fear-mongering is at the root of many ill-informed views about nation, author says

The China seen through Western lenses is not reality but rather a handy screen to project Western dreams and nightmares, says Ben Chu, author of the recent book Chinese Whispers: Why Everything You've Heard About China is Wrong. Chu, 34, economics editor of British newspaper The Independent, says that inaccurate projection is damaging to China and hinders it from communicating smoothly with the West on its road to internationalization.

"As China has taken its place on the world stage, with its economic growth, we've been talking and writing a lot more about China in the West, about what it means for the West and what it means for the rest of the world.