Peter Wilson

China's view of itself, and a UK perspective

The latest Pew Attitudes Survey data for 2009 is available on their website.  They poll globally, and annually.  It makes interesting reading. 

According to the survey, China remains very positive about its future direction  - more so than any other country surveyed.  87% of those surveyed in China think it is going in the right direction, compared to 86% last year - not bad in a financial crisis.  There is an urban bias in the figures - Pew points this out in the fine print.  But compared to even five years ago, using the same methodology, this is a significant improvement.
 
The UK is the country in Europe with the most positive view of China.  That has been true since Pew started asking the question in the UK, in 2005.  The numbers go up and down.  But the trend is pronounced.

Posted at 10:26 05 November 2009 by Peter Wilson  |  Comments[1]

Been on TV, thanks for your ideas, keep them coming.

John Stainer and Seb, your ideas were very helpful.  I tried my best to reflect them.  If you want to see how I did, and you're in China or see this abroad, CCTV is airing the show, Rediscovering China, at 1930 local time on October 1.  We didn't talk about nationalism as much as I wanted to, but we'd already recorded more than the show has time for.  My recently returned suit was accompanied by a brand new Scottish Chinese Tartan tie, that I was given today.  It belongs to the large Chinese community that is now an important part of Scotland, and of which Scotland is proud.
 
John, I liked the first page of your website, which you can access by clicking on your comment.  Good luck with your on line diary while you are in China. Nice idea - particularly about doing it in Chinese as you learn more. On interning, we are anyway looking at this, but I have written to you also about getting in touch if you want to find out more about the Foreign Office while you are in China.
 
Seb, I did try and get across your idea about our desire to engage.  The Pew Attitudes Survey of opinion across the world shows that on China, opinion in Europe, including the UK, is overwhelmingly undecided.  These numbers far outweigh either positive or negative impressions (in the UK, interestingly, the positive figure is among the highest in European countries surveyed).  China's emergence in the wider world is rapid and recent.  I think most people are still trying to make up their mind about what it means for them. More and more people (including in government in the UK) are asking "what does China think?".  In particular on big issues where China is a key player - like international trade, climate change, the financial crisis, and hotspots like North Korea, Iran, Burma and Sudan.
 
On China and the G8, the UK was a prime mover behind the idea that the five key emerging economies be included in substantive conversations every time G8 Heads meet.  It happens now, and China is a vital part of it, with increasingly strong views about how the process should be managed.  On membership, that is as much a matter for China as for the G8 itself.  But it is obvious that on the big issues, China's voice is vitally important, and has increasing weight.  The Prime Minister and Premier Wen just met in New York on 24 September, where they were both also prominent participants in a UN high level event on the Millennium Development Goals.  China has brought more people out of poverty than any other country in history - a key MDG target.  It was good to hear more about how this was achieved, and continue sketching out how we might work more closely together so that others can achieve the same elsewhere.  That's in all our interests.

Posted at 14:13 26 September 2008 by Peter Wilson  |  Comments[4]