According to a newly released questionnaire survey conducted in more than ten European countries, China’s image in the eyes of the European public is getting worse. The IFRI (Institut Français des Relations Internationales) published an analysis of France’s perception of China on the 25th of May, pointing out that the French public’s perception of China is more negative than in the past three years, and the consensus is cross-party, with epidemics being the main factor, while Wolf diplomats, the Xinjiang issue, and the implementation of Hong Kong’s National Security Law have greatly damaged China’s image, making China the least trusted political entity in France. One of them.
The Palacký University Olomouc in the Czech Republic released a large-scale poll on the perception of China in 13 European countries on 16 October, asking questions about the public’s perception of China, China’s position on the international stage in comparison to other major powers, and what it is doing in the midst of the epidemic crisis.
In ten of the thirteen countries that participated in the survey, negative perceptions of China were evident, especially in Western and Northern European countries. France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the Czech Republic are particularly negative in their perceptions of China.
When it comes to the country’s interaction with China, only trade is mostly viewed positively, but not the UK or France. Most negatively, China’s impact on the global environment and on democracy in other countries received significant negative ratings in all 13 countries.
Based on this research, Marc Julienne, a researcher at the Institut Français des Relations Internationales (IFRI), published “French Public Perceptions of China in the Post-Epidemic Era: Political Distrust Trumps Economic Opportunity”. The article points out that due to the Wuhan pneumonia epidemic, human rights violations, and the abuse of technological power, China ranks second on the list of the worst countries for French people, after North Korea, and that French people have a better opinion of Russia than they do of China.
Sixty-two percent of the French surveyed have a “negative” or “very negative” view of China, while only 16% have a positive view and 53% of the French public say the degree of negativity is greater than in the past three years. The first words that come to mind when talking about China, besides Wuhan pneumonia virus, are dictatorship and centralized power. China is one of the least trusted political entities among the French public and the least desirable partner for 5G infrastructure.
Julien pointed out that this survey reveals two characteristics of French public opinion, the first being that “the French public is more sensitive to Chinese political issues than to economic ones. First on the French list is cybersecurity, second is cooperation on international issues such as epidemics and climate change, and terrorism, and third is improving human rights and democracy in China. Among the top priority diplomatic issues, trade and investment were the least worrisome to respondents.”
The second feature, according to Julien, is that perceptions of China do not vary according to political positions. There is a broad consensus of negative views of China among French people, across party lines. Between 58% and 69% of voters in the six major French political parties have a “negative or very negative” view of China, with the European Ecological-Green Party (EELV) being the most negative.
This result shows the defeat of China’s diplomatic and soft power in France. According to Julien, “French public opinion is very sensitive to political and human rights issues, and the French are surprised to see Xinjiang and Hong Kong, and even Taiwan, as well as the issue of personal freedom in China. Several recent international polls have shown that negative perceptions of China are on the rise and becoming more and more negative, with epidemics being the main factor, aggressive Wolf diplomats who have also greatly damaged China’s image, and the issues related to Xinjiang since this summer, as well as Hong Kong’s National Security Law that came into effect on July 1.”
Julian pointed out that it would be simplistic to blame media reports for the increasing negative public perception of China, but it is important to note that China itself has changed, becoming more authoritarian internally and more aggressive externally, making it look worse and worse in the eyes of the public in many countries.
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