Friends noted nationalism went up steadily from 2015, the time of Wolf Warrior and Confucius Institute expansions.<p>Then Xenophobia with COVID, for some blame, but for many the system is blaming and in a country where taking accountability for a hot potato thrown to you means the hot potato of dealing with 'foreign' got passed to the lowest rung who could throw it no more - the residential security guard, or the food supplier coming up with the fanciful 'Covid blew across from North Korea into the restaurant'.<p>But the same friends say Nationalism and Xenophobia, it is a topic that's been there enough to be a regular talking point, are now taking backseat as policy tools and are pre 2019 levels.