Oftentimes its not praise, but recognition. A lot of people have opinions about China, but not so many have been there. Other than the Chinese, of course...
Discussion
Recognition can't be impartial.. we recognize something only if either we appreciate or despise ..
I'm not sure that's true. Anyways, I say both positive and negative things about China because I've been there. I'm very positive about its future ; I'm very negative about it's influence on the world. I have generally the same opinions about India or Russia, though I haven't been there. Basically, people are good and states are bad.