As a person of Chinese descent who grew up in America, face saving has no general negative connotation in Chinese culture -- but the fact that you think it does is very interesting. (EDIT: misread your comment, but this applies to GP)

I've observed that face saving behavior at all levels of society in America, but very few instances of people willing to point it out or discuss it, except sometimes to accuse people of 'covering up bad behavior'.

When you visit someone's house and they serve you food and ask if you liked it, unhesitatingly saying 'yes' is face saving and also just simple good manners.

When your boss makes a bad decision but you don't call them out in the next team meeting, and instead first bring it up in private, that is face saving. You're trying to avoid openly embarrassing someone and reducing their social standing.

In this case, face-saving just makes sense -- let's get a budget deal passed (which is in everyone's best interests), and then mollify the crazies in the base who refuse to see it that way.

I guess pointing out face-saving in the US is itself potentially embarrassing, because it implies that person might actually be worried about their social standing, which can itself negatively affect their social standing?

The reason for this cultural paradox is because face-saving is associated with dishonesty. That is that the behavior is not aligned with the spoken motive. This is interesting to see, because this sort of dishonesty is common in American culture where the values are primarily kindness and productivity.

I find it interesting from my perspective as long time military guy where in the military subculture honesty is highly valued and kindness is not (it is just rolled into respect or otherwise ignored in favor of other virtues).

Your conclusion seems fairly accurate. I think it's weighs more heavily toward a concern about the appearance of weakness rather than social standing though.

My perception is that the appearance of strength is intertwined with social standing in America. (I'm not saying it isn't elsewhere, just that it is here.)

I think you misread my comment. I was saying that I thought it didn't have negative meaning, but that the person I responded to did.

I didn't actually see a negative connotation in either of your posts.