Poll: China Image Scores Better Than U.S.

I think the fact that there has been a "slight" increase, as reported below, in favorable views of the U.S. shows that a majority of the world's population wants to hold the U.S. in a positive light. However the fact that they view China, in every country polled except Poland and Indonesia, more positively than the U.S. shows how disconnected our policies are with the world consensus. Acts of evil are all too pervasive in this world, so the world wants to see the antithesis, not an agent of these evil acts. They once looked to the U.S. for this comfort, and now they are more willing to believe it could come from China?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5094510,00.html

snipets below-

The United States' popularity in many countries - including longtime allies in Europe - is lagging behind even communist China.

The image of the U.S. slipped sharply in 2003, after the invasion of Iraq, and two years later has shown few signs of rebounding either in Western Europe or the Muslim world, an international poll found.

``The U.S. image has improved slightly, but is still broadly negative,'' said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. ``It's amazing when you see the European public rating the United States so poorly, especially in comparison with China.''

In Britain, which prides itself on its ``special relationship'' with Washington, almost two-thirds of Britons, 65 percent, saw China favorably, compared with 55 percent who held a positive view of the United States. In France, 58 percent had an upbeat view of China, compared with 43 percent who felt that way about the U.S. The results were nearly the same in Spain and the Netherlands, the Pew polling found.

The United States' favorability rating was lowest among three Muslim nations that are also U.S. allies - Turkey, Pakistan and Jordan - where only about one-fifth of those polled viewed the U.S. in a positive light. Only Indonesia and Poland viewed the U.S. more positively than China.

•  I think it's more a rosy view of China

  Most people don't really seem to realize what it's like to live in China.  If they took a few trips there, and saw what restrictions there were on the news you can receive even as a tourist, I think fewer than 65% of Britons would have a favorable view.

  by Delirium on Thu Jun 23, 2005 at 02:52:30 PM PDT

  •  Tell us about China.

    
     On the ground.  Cities you've been to.  What you've experienced (not what people've told you) day in and day out.

     No sarcasm here.  Am really wondering.  The floor's all yours.

     BenGoshi
    __________________
    

    by BenGoshi on Thu Jun 23, 2005 at 03:02:51 PM PDT

    •  I haven't, but relatives have

      When Zhao Ziyang died, all internet connections were cut for two days, except to certain foreign-owned investment projects where internet access was considered business-critical (so my relatives could still check their corporate email at work, but couldn't use internet cafes or their hotel internet connection).  The TV censorship was even more scary---you'd be watching the BBC News, and then suddenly it would just go black for 3-4 minutes to skip over a segment on Zhao Ziyang the government didn't want you to see.

      International publications that have stories on China are also regularly censored; the Asian edition of The Economist, for example, is typically released in China only in a bastardized version.

      by Delirium on Thu Jun 23, 2005 at 03:05:15 PM PDT

      •  funny thing is

        that kind of petty control that inconveniences first world tourists doesn't impact most chinese people's lives half as much as the devastating free market reforms along thatcherite neoliberal lines that has been the rule for the past 25 years. honestly, who gives a damn about reading the economist uncensored when your pension vanishes and your boss tells you that you can either be more productive (ie. work for lower pay for longer hours) or get canned, or when any corporation (multinational or domestic) can exercise some law of the jungle eminent domain to take your fields away from you and dump sewage in your water supply? i care a lot less about china's cellphone toting yuppie class than i do about the hundreds of millions of migrant workers rotting in the cities, treated nothing so much as illegal immigrants in the first world (there's more than enough shame to go around).

        if you want to talk about what's oppressing the chinese populace, it's the same thing that plagues citizens of developing countries everywhere: unrestrained global capital, the ideology of the free market, and the coercive state security apparatus that said ideology inevitably requires to protect capital's investments. china is little different than mexico, india, brazil or indonesia in that regard.

        the reason why they've got the better reputation than us IMO is that they haven't been going around bombing the shit out of countries and insulting wide swathes of the globe out of pique. as nations on the security council go, china has ironically been one of the best global citizens, if dreadful to its internal populace. and even on that regard, things are a far cry from the  continuous violent political campaigns that typified the maoist era from 1949-1979 (the june fourth tian'anmen masacre, while an unforgivable atrocity and political tragedy, pales in comparison to the persecution and massacres of citizens in earlier campaigns), and things are looking decidedly better WRT political reforms of late, even as the economic reforms rip the heart out of non-wealthy chinese society. china has if anything a freer press, a more independent judiciary and a more democratic political system than it has ever had, and i imagine that they will end up more so in the decade or so to come, out of sheer necessity, because the status quo ain't working at the bottom, and the party knows it.
        

        by wu ming on Thu Jun 23, 2005 at 03:32:42 PM PDT

        •  some of China's neighbors might disagree

          the reason why they've got the better reputation than us IMO is that they haven't been going around bombing the shit out of countries and insulting wide swathes of the globe out of pique. as nations on the security council go, china has ironically been one of the best global citizens, if dreadful to its internal populace.

          
          On a global scale that's true, but over the past 50 years China has fought wars with nearly all of its neighbors, so they tend to have a less benevolent view of its foreign policy.  (Tibet 1950 and 1959, Burma/Myanmar 1956, India 1962-63, Vietnam 1979, etc.)

          by Delirium on Thu Jun 23, 2005 at 03:47:46 PM PDT

          •  try making a similar list

            for russia, the US, britain or france. i didn't say china was nice, but compared to the string of neocolonial wars started by the other SC permanent members, china looks positively angelic over the last 25 years. most of those wars were short border skirmishes and other than tibet, did not lead to prolonged brutal occupations. again, this is a comparative, and not an absolute statement.

            by wu ming on Thu Jun 23, 2005 at 06:09:13 PM PDT

        •  The Chinese population is doing *very* well

          By almost any measure, besides pollution, they're doing very, very well.  When the economy grows 8-10%/year, distribution problem just aren't relevant.  Everybody is better off.
          

          by curtadams on Thu Jun 23, 2005 at 04:01:22 PM PDT

          •  GDP is meaningless

            and while segments of china's population have done exceedingly well, the majority of workers and farmers have seen their economic security and standard of living plummet since the early 1980s, after the initial boost from the early reforms. things look snappy in haidian, chaoyang and shanghai's bund, but the view from the countryside and the stories of the migrant population who build those shiny new skycrapers tells a different story.

            by wu ming on Thu Jun 23, 2005 at 06:05:35 PM PDT

    •  Ben

      Thanks for commenting on my diary it is my first one. I have no genuine knowledge of China. I thought it interesting that people world wide held that country is a positive light considering most have probably not been there either. Some of the people polled probably have been to the U.S. however; my question is why would they, after our war in Iraq, now view China more positively? Just a question I have no answers on this.

      Thanks again for responding, I'm not bashing China or the people polled.
      

      by dakrle on Thu Jun 23, 2005 at 03:09:30 PM PDT

      •  Glad you posted this.

        
         It's very telling about how Bush has really screwed-up this country.

         I'm going to China in a little over two weeks.  Really looking forward to it.  Not to the pollution, grime, and the possibility of getting very, very sick, but, rather, just experiencing it first hand.  I hope it's the first of many trips there.

         I've lived in Japan, twice, and go there anywhere from 1-2 times a year.  I'm expecting China to be extremely different (did I mention dirt, grime and pollution?), so the contrast should be something to behold.  Also, I speak (passable) Japanese.  I don't speak Chinese (but am cramming!), so that will be another difference, to feel more vulnerable, language-wise.

         Again, glad you posted this.  Unfortunately, I'm hardly surprised.

         BenGoshi
        __________________
        

        by BenGoshi on Thu Jun 23, 2005 at 03:24:56 PM PDT

        •  Be Prepared...

          ...for a very different Chinese cuisine.  They eat everything and anything.  I stopped asking my translator "what is that"...I rarely liked the answer. I don't think "dog-fingers" is on the menu much anymore.

          Check my comment below - I've left there with an overall good impression, save for the burgeoning capitalism that, perhaps to the Chinese, may help dissolve their traditions, customs and history.

          It's dry there, so be prepared with skin creme, etc.

          by viczeba on Thu Jun 23, 2005 at 03:39:10 PM PDT

          •  Conflicting feelings

            
             A couple of years ago I was in Japan watching a tv show on Chinese cuisine, street food, regular stuff, and, well, in the midst of everything (gag, wretch, choke, barf) my host, my old Sensei from college days, said, simply:  "When you go to China, you should only eat chicken.  Only."

             Well, he's definitely got a point.  On the other hand, I don't want to be a wimp.  I want to experience that which I cannot experience here (less and except certain China-centric diseases and maladies).

             I and my 5 traveling companions will be hosted by some minor gov't official-types, I met several of them over here just a couple weeks ago.  So, on one hand, I think they'll really be "looking out" for us (that's a good thing) and, on the other hand, I think they'll really be trying to "show off", and who knows what that'll entail, cuisine-wise . . .  If I drink enough, though, that oughta kill off most of the icky microbial things that I just as soon do without.

             BenGoshi
            __________________
            

            by BenGoshi on Thu Jun 23, 2005 at 03:48:49 PM PDT

            •  watch out for the baijiu (liquor)

              that shit is lethal.

              by wu ming on Thu Jun 23, 2005 at 06:18:46 PM PDT

            •  Expect to be treated very well

              My hosts were terrific in making me feel welcomed and comfortable.  They appreciated my willingness to try things, and with that we shared a mutual trust (ergo I never did eat the fish head).  So I never felt that I would be compromised in any way - except the beer chugging, tiring but fun.

              On chicken, I was amused at a hocker's stand that had a) live chickens, b) skinned and prepped chickens, and c) cooked chicken.  It was literally "how would you like your chicken today, Mr Vic"?  

              by viczeba on Thu Jun 23, 2005 at 07:20:51 PM PDT

        •  where are you going?

          depending on the place, it might look a lot like japan, or a whole lot different.

          if you're heading south, or to sichuan, your spoken mandarin might get difficult, just because of the accents/dialects, but the reading will be of great help. as for the sickness, i have actually only gotten sick once in my four trips in china (as opposed to vietnam and india, where i was perpetually ill), but who knows whether that is representative of anything. since you know the kanji/hanzi from japanese, food should be fairly straight-forward, and while chinese (esp. cantonese) will eat anything, you shouldn't take that to mean that everything is weird giblit stew and fried eyeballs. most food is a variation on pork, chicken or fish + rice/noodles, and the names of street food in particular tend to be very straight-forward (lit. "beef meat noodles" or "chicken leg rice").

          make sure to diary it when you return. it will be interesting to see your perspective, esp. having lived in japan. why are you going?

          by wu ming on Thu Jun 23, 2005 at 06:17:27 PM PDT

    •  Beijing, on business, several trips in 90s

      Very crowded, relateively dirty though improved over  time due to newer cars.  LOTS of bicycles, that too is decreasing as prosperity continues to spread.  Stayed at the Palace Hotel, 5-star (for BJ) but was mobbed by little beggar children every time I left the grounds.  Traveled into the country with a translator to see Great Wall, etc., abject poverty in both the country and the side roads of the main boulevards.  The developer of my project (ICBC) literally demolished a city block of housing to put up an 11-story banking HQ opposite Tiananmen Square.  Tiny, tiny cars/cabs, English language not widely spoken.  Lots of German companies there, Japanese too. Not as much US influence as you'd expect, though the world's largest McDonalds was there until recent demolition.  Never ever felt like I was under surveillance or had to be careful of anything.  People were delightful, pleasantly surprised at the number of women in senior management with my client.

      by viczeba on Thu Jun 23, 2005 at 03:30:34 PM PDT