“China is now seen by the Americans as the main enemy of the US,” Gallup concluded this year. “Practically nine out of ten Americans consider China a competitor or an enemy rather than a partner,” revealed the Pew Research Center, in a 2021 survey.
References like these are widely known among those who study China. However, although necessary, it is very rare to hear what the Chinese think about the world.
For starters, measuring public opinion is a difficult task in China, especially for foreign institutions. Results are often seen as unreliable or unrepresentative.
At the same time, surveys carried out by Chinese institutions are met with skepticism abroad. According to the Global Times, for example, 96% of Chinese netizens have a negative view of the US — a highly suspect near unanimity. In this context, a recent survey, although limited to internet users in China, took the temperature of the country’s population on international issues.
Under the leadership of the US Carter Center, the participants’ opinions on the US were first asked. Then, how do you think your country is seen internationally. According to the survey, 62% of Chinese Internet users have a negative or very negative view of the US. The result is not surprising. The number is high — and different from that of the Global Times. Other polls indicate that the Chinese admire the US for its technology, innovation, military might and international influence.
Interestingly, the Beijing Olympics in 2008 may have marked the highest point in Chinese perceptions of the US in decades.
George W. Bush came to the Chinese capital accompanied by his father. The president and his ex participated in the opening of the Games, watched a beach volleyball match and had dinner at the Forbidden City. For the Chinese, not just a sign of deference, but also an expression of humanity.
This week, the US announced that it will carry out a political boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022. Athletes will come, officials will not. The changing times also reflect the drastic growth of the American public’s unfavorable perception of China.
This makes the other result of the Carter Center survey especially interesting: a remarkable 78% of respondents think that China has a positive (32%) or very positive (46%) view abroad.
Admittedly, in the developing world, views on the Asian country tend to be more favorable. However, the results of the Carter Center indicate that, in China, there is a sweetened vision regarding the international perception of the country. The Chinese’s assessment of their image in the world reveals in part the capacity of the official media to shape perceptions. However, whether you like the way public opinion is formed in China or not, it is necessary to better understand how the Chinese see the world.
The dissonance of perceptions — how the world views China and how the Chinese think China is seen — could prove dangerous, especially if it fuels overconfidence among authorities. In a logic that feeds back, fully believing in the narrative itself encourages a triumphalism that can be harmful, which increases the risk of miscalculations.
Commenting on the survey results, Yawei Liu, from the Carter Center, referred to prime-time television news in China, in which the first 25 minutes usually portray the country’s glories and the last five show how bad the situation is outside. . For the vast majority of Chinese, he concludes, it is natural to assume that the world admires China.
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