I've been to China (Shanghai, Dalian, Beijing, Hong Kong, Xingang and Wuxi (Wushi)). Van, you have a different view of China than I saw. China is relatively open and the people have much more knowledge of us than we (ugly American tourist) do of them. This is not to say that they don't have political opression. But the days of Maoist isolationism are pretty much gone.
See ya
Tony