The problem is Xi Jinping, not the Chinese people

Xi Jinping’s popularity worldwide is declining. However, because of its economic strength, people still favor China, albeit with some doubts.

With the passage of time and the growing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, more and more countries are reassessing their relations with China.
China no longer seems to be the most favored tango partner on the global political stage. In fact, China’s mistakes may cause the downfall of the country that dances with this dark dragon.
I remember analyzing the Pew Research Center’s survey of China in 2019. The title of this study is Attitudes towards China. Research shows that people around the world have different views on China.
According to reports, in the survey, among the 34 countries surveyed, 40% of people have a positive view of China, while the median of 41% have a negative view of China. However, Russia, Nigeria, and Lebanon have the most positive views of China, while Japan, Sweden, and Canada have the most negative views of China.
The most interesting data is that according to Transparency International, the higher the level of corruption in a country, the better the country’s view of China.
Interestingly, the correlation between investment from China and the perception of China of the countries covered by the survey is weak. Although hundreds of dollars have been invested in the “Belt and Road” initiative, especially in emerging economies, China’s capital investment or construction contracts funded by a country are only weakly linked to the country’s overall view of China. For example, since 2005, Indonesia has received more than 47 billion U.S. dollars in capital investment and projects from China, but the average attitude towards China is 36% and 36%.
After Covid-19, most global countries no longer favor China, they just tolerate it.
The Pew Research Center’s 2020 attitude survey of 14 countries pointed out that in recent years, many advanced economies have increasingly negative views of China, and the negative views have soared in the past year. Today, most people in every country surveyed hold a negative view of China. In Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United States, South Korea, Spain, and Canada, negative views reached their highest point.
Pew’s report stated that Australia’s negative perceptions of China have increased the most, and 81% of people now say they are unfavorable to the country, an increase of 24 percentage points from last year. In the UK, about three-quarters of people now believe that the country has experienced a 19-point negative growth. In the United States, since President Donald Trump took office, negative views of China have increased by nearly 20%, and since last year it has increased by 13%.
The survey further revealed that the increase in unfavorable views was due to widespread criticism of China’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Among the countries surveyed, 61% believe that China has done poorly in responding to the outbreak of the pandemic.
Dissatisfaction with China’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic has also raised questions about the confidence of Chinese President Xi Jinping. 78% of people in the survey said that they do not believe or have confidence in doing the right thing in world affairs, including at least seven in ten people in every country surveyed. The survey also emphasized that during the survey period, every country with trend data had historically high levels of lack of confidence in Xi Jinping. In most countries, since last year, the percentage of people who say they have little or no confidence in him has increased by double digits. For example, in the Netherlands, last year about half of them distrusted Xi Jinping, and today 70% said the same rise by 17 percentage points.
But at least compared with the United States, China has not completely withdrawn from the game. Like I said, they are not favored, but tolerated.
The Pew survey shows that people’s perceptions of how China is responding to the coronavirus pandemic have affected people’s overall perceptions of China. The report further shows that those who believe that China is not doing a good job of responding to Covid-19 are more likely to hold a negative view of the country, and that in every country surveyed, the difference is at least 20 percentage points. For example, in Italy, those who say that China is not doing a good job of responding to the coronavirus pandemic are twice as likely to hold negative views of China as 82% and 41%, respectively. In Europe, compared with the United States, more people regard China as the world’s number one economic power.
Therefore, although the world economy is preparing for contraction in the coming year, in the Covid-19 pandemic, including the economies of the United States, Japan and European countries, the Chinese economy is expected to achieve positive growth. Most countries surveyed believe that China is the world’s leading economic power. The United States is second only to China.
China’s problem is not China, but China under the leadership of President Xi Jinping.
The distrust of President Xi in various countries has reached unprecedented heights. The increase in distrust was particularly pronounced in the past year. Of the 12 countries surveyed by the Pew Research Center, nine of the countries said they had no confidence in Xi Jinping, which showed a double-digit increase. For example, in Australia, 54% of people had little confidence in Xi Jinping in 2019, and now 79% hold the same view, an increase of 25%.
Although the 2019 and 2020 Pew Research Center surveys focused on the relationship between China and other global countries, the recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center and released in June 2021 showed that the In the body, few people think that the Chinese government respects the people’s personal freedom. Of the 17 members of the public surveyed by the Pew Research Center, 15 held this view, eight in ten or more. In almost all places surveyed, this feeling is also at or close to historical highs, with a significant increase in countries such as Italy, South Korea, Greece, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom since 2018.
A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2021 shows:
* Few people believe that Chinese President Xi Jinping will do the right thing in world affairs. In most places surveyed, these negative evaluations of him are at or close to historical highs.
* In the entire Asia-Pacific region, it is more important to work hard to promote human rights in China. Even if it will damage economic relations with China, it is more important to give priority to strengthening economic relations with China, even if it means not solving human rights issues. Most people in New Zealand (80%), Australia (78%) and Japan (54%) prioritize the promotion of human rights, while the majority in Taiwan (45%) prioritize strengthening economic relations. Those who prioritize economic relations with the United States over China are often more likely to support the promotion of human rights.
* Compared with the Asia-Pacific region, Europeans have much higher recognition of China’s handling of Covid-19. The vast majority of Europeans also believe that a strong economic relationship with the United States is more important than a strong relationship with China, and the public in the Asia-Pacific region is more divided.
* In Taiwan and Singapore, race and national identity play a role in attitudes. In Taiwan, those who identify with Chinese and Taiwanese (rather than Taiwanese) tend to prioritize economic relations with China over the United States, and have a more favorable view of the superpower, etc. In Singapore, similar differences have emerged between Chinese and Malays or Indians.
* Whether in terms of favorability of China, assessment of President Xi, assessment of China’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, or perceptions of whether China respects the personal freedom of its people, older people tend to criticize China more than Young people are more critical of China. Compared with young people, older people also tend to prefer economic relations with the United States over China. However, the patterns of South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore sometimes reverse, and the elderly are more positive about China on certain issues.
During a recent meeting with Chinese officials, Xi Jinping said that it is important for China to tell its story in a positive way. International public opinion must make friends widely, unite the broad masses, and continuously expand the circle of friends.
He further clarified that China must be open and self-confident as well as modest and humble when interacting with the world. China only wants the happiness and good luck of the Chinese people.
Xi Jinping’s popularity worldwide is declining. However, because of its economic strength, people still favor China, albeit with some doubts.
The Chinese people are not the problem of all countries in the world. Xi Jinping and his dictatorship agenda at home and abroad are of serious concern.

Savio Rodrigues is the founder and editor-in-chief of Goa Chronicle.