"Confrontational" is, to me at least, quite a relative term. Here in China if you dare question an obviously boneheaded decision your superior has made or criticize them in any way the word can be applied to you. Chinese are wonderful people but are very often timid to the point of cowardly when dealing with anyone whose "status" is considered higher than theirs. When I first got here, in 2001, I was absolutely appalled at how badly my Chinese boss treated his workers, who were all earning around 800 yuan a month or so despite being university graduates. Most were recruited from other cities and put up with whatever crap was handed to them. The "People's Republic" has tons of labor laws but the enforcement is spotty to nonexistent. Bosses are king (or sometimes, but not often, queen). You mess with them at your own peril. Chinese can get fired at any time for any reason, or no reason at all, and they usually have no legal recourse. When you speak with your English-speaking Chinese colleagues privately you think you might have an ally or two against the boss but you usually don't. Be very aware of this. There's no need to be paranoid about it but keep in mind that job security means much more to them than to you. Pick your battles with care and try very hard not to confront a superior when underlings are present. That causes him/her to "lose face," which for many Chinese is the ultimate humiliation. (I was "asked" to surrender a position because I questioned an English Department Chair's competence in a roomful of people. Privately they all would have agreed with me. About 2 weeks later another FT was removed for doing very nearly the same thing, completely independently of me. We had never even spoken together. You'd think logically that if not just one, but two, FT's questioned her competence that would be enough to at least consider the possibility that we were right. Not here.)

If you are in a big city you need to be a tad more careful. You can, and will, be replaced. If you are in a provincial city without a lot of foreigners you are much more free to speak your mind because it's not easy, and often impossible, to replace you. You'll learn, in time, what's OK to say and do and what isn't. "Ears open, mouth shut" is a good policy to pursue for a while.