I have met a lot of Chinese assholes in China who were mainly people in power supporting the current system. The current Chinese system is culturally and historically an outcome of certain aspects of its ancient Chinese roots.

On the other hand, I have also met a lot of honest and sincere Chinese people not in position of power in the current Chinese system, and I found their character and personality to be a result of the more positive aspects of the same cultural and historical roots of Ancient China.

Looking at it with reason, it will show you the good and the bad. I will not let it ride when someone condemns a whole nation or ethnic group as inferior or whatever in memory of the few good real friends I made there over the years. This is what I feel I owe them personally, and standing up for them forms part of what I feel I owe them.

As he is Chinese he would understand all the faults of that culture as well as or maybe better than we do, even though we both have a good understanding of how Chinese think.