But while nationalism might have provided a catalyst for the recent outbursts of violence, Schneider cautioned that “the roots are likely much deeper, tying in with broader social and economic anxieties”.

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China’s property slump has wiped some $US18 trillion ($26.4 trillion) in wealth from households, according to Barclays calculations, and triggered pay cuts and layoffs as the nation wrestles with its longest period of deflation in decades. Earlier this year, Chinese social media users connected those economic pressures to an uptick in violent attacks.

Public acts of violence against foreigners undercut Beijing’s broader goal of attracting overseas business at a time of sagging investment. Almost half of Japanese firms in China polled recently said they won’t spend more or will cut investment this year – citing rising wages, falling prices and geopolitical tensions.

“The current knifing incident may be an additional concern to add on to such issues,” said Lim Tai Wei, adjunct senior research fellow at National University of Singapore’s East Asian Institute, noting the latest incident comes at a time of some thawing in bilateral relations.

Generations of Chinese citizens have grown up exposed to hostile propaganda towards Japan. Beijing claims Tokyo hasn’t apologised sufficiently for war atrocities and is embroiled in territorial spats over disputed islands in the East China Sea. Those tensions have deepened as Asia’s largest economies compete in a wide array of commercial fields, and Tokyo forges closer military and trade ties with the US.

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Beijing fanned anti-Japan sentiment last year by rebuking Tokyo’s plan to release treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant, and banning all seafood from its neighbour. That decision defied scientists’ assessments the move was in line with global safety standards.

Highlighting the growing antagonism, a Chinese influencer recently posted a video of himself desecrating the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine, associated with Japan’s history of military aggression. That act drew comments from some Chinese social media users criticising the show of extreme nationalism.

A viral Wechat article titled “I Still Feed Sad For That Japanese Boy” similarly questioned the growing anti-Japan rhetoric that has become mainstream over the past decade.

“The voices supporting friendly exchanges between China and Japan have gradually been marginalised, or even cleansed online,” wrote the author in a post that has been seen more than 12,000 times and had more than 4000 likes by Thursday afternoon.

Such narratives “will eventually spill offline and have influence over the real world,” the author wrote. The article was later censored “due to violations”.

It’s a risk the nation’s leaders seem to understand.

Beijing has reined in its “wolf warrior” diplomats, and is trying to stabilise ties with the US through a flurry of high-level diplomatic talks. After the June stabbing of a Japanese woman and child, Chinese authorities gave the bus attendant who sacrificed her life to save them a hero’s award, commending her efforts to help the foreigners.

The extent of the challenge to shift sentiment was exemplified this week when the World Table Tennis association was attacked by Chinese fans for choosing to sell tickets for an event in Fukuoka – a city in Japan – on the same date of Tokyo’s invasion of China. Eventually, organisers relented.