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The “yellow peril” and “model minority” stereotypes appear as conflicting accounts of Asian Americans but in fact work together (Okihiro 1994). In both cases, there is an underlying supposition of Asian Americans as foreigners to the nation. The “yellow peril” is a foreigner bent on taking over the world. The “model minority” is a foreigner who is helpful to the United States. As long as Asian Americans “stay in their place” as models for how minorities are to behave, they are accepted, even praised. But, as they gain too many resources (in university admissions, in the labor market, etc.) and unlink the “natural” association between whiteness, the nation, and privilege, they become the “yellow peril” and threaten society. Other Americans can unite in opposition to the “yellow peril,” thereby helping with the racial imaginary of a white nation that in reality relies upon immigrant labor. For instance, when Asian Americans wear masks during the COVID-19 crisis as part of their public health duty, they can be read as a disease threat rather than conscientious citizen and be blamed for the “China virus.” So the “yellow peril” and “model minority” go hand-in-hand as complementary stereotypes. As fitting racial formation theory discussed above, a group’s characterization is not consistent but changes to fit the needs of political and economic elites.

The “yellow peril” and “model minority” stereotypes also stem from United States’ transnational relations within global capitalism (Lowe 1998). The United States has gone to war with Asian and Middle Eastern countries with imperial ambitions throughout much of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. These countries are often framed as threats to US physical and economic security. Immigration laws have reflected this framing, with Asian Americans being barred from immigrating in the early part of the twentieth century and thereafter only being let in bit by bit under heavy regulation. The immigration laws have changed to allow entry of Asian Americans, mostly in response to the economic needs and ambitions of the United States, creating in turn the “model minority” population.