of ambitious" entries, they both "decide[d] to take a step backward stylistically". For this reason, he enjoyed "China", and opined that "The China plot, which thankfully focused less on Michael's craziness than his (and his coworkers') relationship with Oscar, demonstrated how well-drawn the show has been even when it comes to its more peripheral characters." He also said the episode was "vintage Office." Bonnie Stiernberg of Paste magazine wrote highly of the episode and called it "a half hour of heartwarming comedy". She was particularly pleased with how Michael was able to overcome Oscar with pathos, and she enjoyed the episode's subplots. Dan Forcella of TV Fanatic praised the episode and awarded it five stars out of five. He wrote that "If my favorite thing for Jim to do is prank Dwight, my second favorite is when he backs Michael." Furthermore, he wrote that "While this A story was filled with plenty of laughs, [...] Dwight's B story was absolutely murderous [and] all gold". He also felt that the C plot was enjoyable, because "Andy is great in small doses". Myles McNutt of The A.V. Club awarded the episode a "B+" grade. He noted that The Office was not suited for political examination, because, as the show is grounded in reality, the concept of the office as "a microcosm for global politics is … uneven." However, McNutt argued that because the show used the conceit of China as a "red herring [...] to introduce a story about Oscar as 'Actually,' and the gap between Michael’s rhetorical potential and his actual knowledge of just about any subject", the story "steps back and finds a small moment within [the larger] conflict." McNutt also enjoyed the B-plot with Pam and Dwight, noting that the ending was "honestly quite sweet". References External links "China" at NBC.com 2010 American television episodes The Office (American season 7) episodes