I think we are on the same page, but I slightly disagree with you to a certain extent, because I don’t think the racism is just limited to cultural superiority or thinking that one culture is superior to another, but there is outright de facto and institutionalized racism(jingoism?) as a matter of law and in business.
The cultural stuff I don’t really care about.
I don’t really care about people’s private prejudices or preferences.
For example, I have Chinese friends and I know their families want them to marry other Chinese. I don’t care. And I know every Asian country as the equivalent of the “N word” for white people. And that doesn’t bother me much either.
However, I know as a White American I won’t be treated equally under the law, that I won’t have my contracts enforced, that I will be discriminated against in the justice system and by the bureaucracy, that I have to deal with racism in terms of preferences based exclusively on race and nothing else, that I will never be able to own land, or own 100% of my business without a local partner. I have been cheated just because I was white and I had no recourse. You just have to bite the bullet.
In the US, if Americans did that to any foreigner, even to illegal aliens, they could be sued and lose every penny.
The irony, of course, is that is not exclusively a race thing, because not all Asians are treated equally either(eg Japan and Korea, Thailand and Cambodia, Singapore and Malaysia, China and Vietnam), but it is a more jingoistic characteristic I have seen in every single Asian country, except Singapore, which is basically a Western county with Asian people living there.
The condition you described is packed with some things I am familiar with and somethings that I am not. And some things I agree with and some things I do not. On the global level, I am familiar with and agree with, on the individual level, I am not familiar at all. And also, your statement has to do with ethics of people as well, in other words, there could be laws that exist to ensure the rights of foreigners, but those dispensing the law may not adhere to it, this area, I'm not real familiar with.
In the area I am familiar with, such as requiring a local partner, as in the case with China, I do agree with. And this was a condition in which Europe and the US agreed to when China joined the WTO. This is necessary for a poor country to develop without being overwhelmed by global corporations. It still happened anyway, as General Motors is the largest auto manufacturer in China. And they were given preferential treatment over their domestic auto manufacturers, at first. Now the government are setting up policies that do favor their domestic companies. This, to a degree, I agree with. Poor countries, in the past, have had their economies controlled by outsider powers before.
Onto the individual levels. Foreigners can own homes in China right now. This policy has more to do with ensuring that the local population gets first shot at housing. Its not fair to expats, for sure, but it is born out of anger by ordinary citizens who earn meager wages compared to foreign workers living in China. To be sure, wealthy Chinese seem to have unbridled access to housing in China. So, yes, the world isn't fair all around even as it tries to be fair in certain areas.
Onto ethics. In China, the central government is trusted more so than at the local level. Tens of thousands of Chinese protest every year against corrupt government practices. So, likely, those practices will have fallen your way as well, as local officials do not help your petition for your rights under the law. This area, I must admit, I know very little about since I have actually not lived in China or anywhere else in Asia but hope to someday (for a little while, anyway).
In the US, if Americans did that to any foreigner, even to illegal aliens, they could be sued and lose every penny.
Lose every penny, might be an extreme outcome. But I understand what you are saying. But really, foreigners in America having access to strong legal counsel has more to do with the Americans, as a whole, adhering to the law more so than in Asia. What that means, is that a white person suing a white person have the same power of legal protection, both the plaintiff and the defendant.
Within Asia, some places are better than others, i.e., Japan is probably better than Taiwan and South Korea, and they are probably better than China. And China better than Vietnam. And Singapore better than Japan.
Also, keep in mind, minorities have had to fight for fairness of the law in the US as well. And they have been successful, because legislative protection, along with the media, had protected white on white issues first. And those who were minorities, simply piggy backed on those benefits by entering into a legal framework that was ethical and became more ethical over time. If white on white oppression been in America, had been, for example, like Arab on Arab oppression in the Middle East, then minorities in America would not have gained the rights they enjoy today.
I am convinced, the same will happen with China as well. As they develop a better legal framework, people within China will also develop greater ethics to adhere to that frame work. And foreigners and expats will be able to piggy back off of this improving legal frame work.
I saw a news reports once, about a Taiwan husband and British wife where they were trying to buy a house in Beijing. They have stated they will leave China if they are not given the right to own a home. According to the news report, the government is trying to address those concerns as well. So, in the long run, with alot of petition, I do believe foreigners and expats will enjoy the same rights as Chinese citizens in China. It just might take a few more decades.