This study explores how the integration of traditional Chinese musical timbres with Western electronic music production can be understood not only as a technical experiment in sound design but also as a cultural negotiation which involves questions of authenticity, innovation and balance. The research was motivated by the observation that Chinese instruments such as the erhu or guzheng carry strong symbolic force, and when they are moved into digital production they become more than sound sources, they become cultural codes, while electronic music, through processes like granular resynthesis or spatial manipulation, represents a different form of authorship where the producer's hand in technology is also a kind of authenticity. In order to test how audiences perceive these tensions, three short clips were created, each designed with a distinct strategy: Clip A placed traditional timbres in the centre with minimal electronic support, Clip B treated them as material for heavy processing in a technology-dominant frame, and Clip C attempted a balanced dialogue where both agencies could coexist. A small-scale listening test online questionnaire was conducted with heterogeneous participants from Chinese and Western backgrounds, with and without formal training, and their responses were analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Results showed that Clip A was most strongly associated with identity and heritage but sometimes criticised as safe, Clip B was praised as innovative and modern but also rejected as erasure, while Clip C received the broadest approval as harmonious and fair although a few listeners described it as indecisive. The findings suggest that cross-cultural fusion is not judged only by timbral recognisability or technological novelty but by how the relation between them is staged, and that balance, if composed as living interaction rather than simple averaging, may provide a path forward for practice and for theory alike.