Public Opinion Surveys Show Recent Gains for China’s Soft Power– chinadigitaltimes.net

Several public opinion surveys published over the last few months paint a picture of China’s role in the world from the perspective of both Chinese and international respondents. These build on previous surveys from the past year that show how despite polarized views, global attitudes towards China have improved at the expense of the U.S., especially in the Global South. (Meanwhile, polls showing dissatisfaction within China have been censored online.)

One notable survey published this month by Dina Smeltz, Craig Kafura, Yawei Liu, Nick Zeller, and Sam Dong at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs tracked Chinese people’s confidence in China and their desire for their country to play a global leadership role. Conducted between April 25 and June 16, the survey found that a “key difference between Chinese views of Beijing’s role in the world compared to American views of Washington’s role is that China’s public support is widespread across all demographic groups, while the public in the United States is much more fragmented, especially by partisan affiliation.” Here is a summary of the main findings:

Nine in 10 Chinese support their country’s active participation in world affairs (90%).

Part of this enthusiasm stems from a sense that China is a leading power in the world: Large majorities say their country is in at least a somewhat strong position in the world (97%) and expect it to get at least somewhat stronger in the next five years (95%).

Seven in 10 Chinese respondents say China has a unique character that makes it the greatest country in the world (69%) versus three in 10 who say China is no greater than any other country (30%).

While a plurality prefer China play a shared leadership role in the world (48%), four in 10 say it should take a dominant one (41%). One in 10 feel China should play no leadership role (11%). [Source]