Poll: China tops global growth potential

Most Chinese people are confident about the country's development and regard its growth potential as the most promising in the world, a survey has found.

Despite the fact that China ranks second behind the United States in terms of overall national strength, the respondents were more optimistic about the country's development potential. China ranked first in the development potential index with a score of 39.38, while the US ranked second with a score of 30.67, according to the survey of global public opinions released on Sunday in Beijing. Russia ranked third with 9.09 points.

The survey, Global Public Opinion Index 2023, was conducted by the Ministry of Education's Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Big Data and National Communication Strategy and Huazhong University of Science and Technology's National Communication Strategy Research Institute.

Data was collected online from 22 countries by two professional research companies — Dataway for the Chinese mainland and Qualtrics for the others. A total of 23,512 respondents were interviewed, including 1,500 from the mainland. The survey was conducted from November to December last year.

The study showed that the Chinese people have a high level of national pride and national identity. It showed that 80 percent of respondents are "honored to be Chinese", and 85 percent are "often proud of the country's achievements".

Nearly 80 percent of respondents said they would stay in China even if given the chance to leave.

The survey found that Chinese people have a strong sense of national identity and take pride in China's remarkable achievements, said Zhang Kun, a professor at Huazhong University of Science and Technology's Journalism and Information Communication School, who led the survey.

He noted that the survey also showed that most Chinese people believe that China, the US and Russia are the most prominent great powers, reflecting their significant economic, political and military influence on the global stage.

In addition, the US tends to be perceived negatively as a "hegemonic", "aggressive", "problematic", and "military" power by the Chinese people. Zhang also noted that China's growing global presence has led to its people paying close attention to international affairs and world events.

When it comes to global public views, it is generally recognized that China's growing economic and political power has had a significant impact on the global community, and many people around the world welcome China's increasing role in international affairs.

People across the world generally recognize the positive impact of the Belt and Road Initiative, but there is still room for improvement in promoting greater awareness and understanding of the concept, Zhang said.

Most people around the world recognize that China's rise as an economic powerhouse has become a prominent feature of its global image, he added.

It is the second such global survey, after the first was released in 2020.

Hu Zhengrong, director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Journalism and Communication, said the survey offers quantitative support for scholars and policymakers to better understand global public views on international and Chinese affairs, in order to carry out in-depth research and draw up policies.

Lu Xiaohua, dean of Tianjin University's School of New Media and Communication, said the survey is valued for gathering, analyzing and releasing data in this field.