Public trust: China surges, US falls

China has seen an increase in people's trust in institutions running the country while the US has recorded a massive collapse, CNBC reported Tuesday.

China became the biggest trust gainer in the past year with 27 percent increase in the 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer trust index, indicating the most extreme change in trust in institutions among all the 28 countries studied.

China's growing middle-class was helping promote high confidence in government and media, according to the annual Edelman survey, which measures trust in government, media, businesses and NGOs.

The international expansion of Chinese internet companies such as Alibaba and Tencent has also brought increased trust in the country's business among both the general population and the informed public, according to the report.

On the contrary, public trust among Americans has seen an aggregate 37 percent slump across government, media, businesses and NGOs in the US and the trust decline is the steepest ever, the report said.

The collapse of trust in the US was driven mainly by an increased lack of faith in government, which fell 14 points to 33 percent among the general population, and slumped 30 points to 33 percent among the informed public. The institutions of business, media and NGOs also experienced declines between 10 and 20 points.

Ironically, the US public's lack of faith is happening at a time when both the stock market and employment rates in the country are at record highs, the report said.

The survey also revealed that although faith in media platforms was seen to be falling, the credibility of individual journalists had risen substantially.

The annual survey, which has been running since 2001, showed that 20 out of 28 countries surveyed were in distruster territory this year, up one from last year.