lily
05-29-2007, 11:31 PM
Will China be the next superpower? (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18906545/site/newsweek/?rf=nwnewsletter)
Few Fear the Dragon
By George Wehrfritz
Newsweek
Updated: 12:12 p.m. ET May 28, 2007
June 4, 2007 issue - Suddenly, the Chinese dragon doesn't look so scary. For
several years, Beijing's leaders and diplomats have labored hard to portray
their homeland as benign, well mannered and neighborly. Now a new global
opinion survey out this week suggests their efforts have paid off. The once
visceral fear felt in many quarters that China's rise would spell disaster
for its business competitors, historical foes and political critics alike
has dulled, while Beijing's ongoing campaign to cast its renaissance as what
President Hu Jintao calls a "peaceful rising" has apparently begun to sway
at least some hearts and minds around the globe.
The key finding of the poll, which was conducted by the Chicago Council on
Global Affairs and WorldPublicOpinion.org in conjunction with research
centers around the world, is that a majority of citizens in 8 of 14
countries surveyed (and a plurality in 4) now expect that China will
eventually catch up with the United States economically—yet they're utterly
unconcerned by the prospect. Less than a third of respondents in every
country surveyed believe China's rise will be "mostly negative," with
majorities in most countries anticipating a mixed or positive outcome.
That's not to say the dragon has suddenly morphed into a cuddly panda.
Surprisingly—indeed, paradoxically—the survey also reveals that a majority
or near majority of respondents in most countries don't trust China to act
responsibly beyond its borders, and most Asians outside China, wary of
Beijing's military build-up, favor an ongoing U.S. security presence in the
region.
To illustrate this mistrust, consider that China's global score on this
attribute is now virtually the same as that of the United States—which has
seen its popularity slide precipitously since the 1990s, due in large part
to the Iraq War and the arrogance it seemed to indicate. Both states were
deemed untrustworthy global actors in 10 of 15 countries surveyed. That
China ranks alongside a rival trapped in a far-flung military quagmire of
its own making suggests that Beijing still has plenty of work to do
rehabilitating its image. "People see China ascending to a top level in the
world and they're responding in a pretty sanguine fashion," says pollster
Steven Kull, director of the University of Maryland's program on
international policy (which participated in the survey). "At the same time
they haven't been snowed by it, either."
Maybe not, but the country's standing has definitely risen from the days
when China exported revolution internationally like it now exports toys and
TVs, and Chairman Mao topped the Western world's rogues' gallery. In
essence, the survey reveals that China's rise, an event representing a
tectonic shift in global power, elicits an international response "that is
largely low-key" and "almost philosophical," says Kull. In contrast, he
notes, Japan's emergence as an economic giant in the 1980s generated far
more anxiety, according to opinion polls taken at the time.
Few Fear the Dragon
By George Wehrfritz
Newsweek
Updated: 12:12 p.m. ET May 28, 2007
June 4, 2007 issue - Suddenly, the Chinese dragon doesn't look so scary. For
several years, Beijing's leaders and diplomats have labored hard to portray
their homeland as benign, well mannered and neighborly. Now a new global
opinion survey out this week suggests their efforts have paid off. The once
visceral fear felt in many quarters that China's rise would spell disaster
for its business competitors, historical foes and political critics alike
has dulled, while Beijing's ongoing campaign to cast its renaissance as what
President Hu Jintao calls a "peaceful rising" has apparently begun to sway
at least some hearts and minds around the globe.
The key finding of the poll, which was conducted by the Chicago Council on
Global Affairs and WorldPublicOpinion.org in conjunction with research
centers around the world, is that a majority of citizens in 8 of 14
countries surveyed (and a plurality in 4) now expect that China will
eventually catch up with the United States economically—yet they're utterly
unconcerned by the prospect. Less than a third of respondents in every
country surveyed believe China's rise will be "mostly negative," with
majorities in most countries anticipating a mixed or positive outcome.
That's not to say the dragon has suddenly morphed into a cuddly panda.
Surprisingly—indeed, paradoxically—the survey also reveals that a majority
or near majority of respondents in most countries don't trust China to act
responsibly beyond its borders, and most Asians outside China, wary of
Beijing's military build-up, favor an ongoing U.S. security presence in the
region.
To illustrate this mistrust, consider that China's global score on this
attribute is now virtually the same as that of the United States—which has
seen its popularity slide precipitously since the 1990s, due in large part
to the Iraq War and the arrogance it seemed to indicate. Both states were
deemed untrustworthy global actors in 10 of 15 countries surveyed. That
China ranks alongside a rival trapped in a far-flung military quagmire of
its own making suggests that Beijing still has plenty of work to do
rehabilitating its image. "People see China ascending to a top level in the
world and they're responding in a pretty sanguine fashion," says pollster
Steven Kull, director of the University of Maryland's program on
international policy (which participated in the survey). "At the same time
they haven't been snowed by it, either."
Maybe not, but the country's standing has definitely risen from the days
when China exported revolution internationally like it now exports toys and
TVs, and Chairman Mao topped the Western world's rogues' gallery. In
essence, the survey reveals that China's rise, an event representing a
tectonic shift in global power, elicits an international response "that is
largely low-key" and "almost philosophical," says Kull. In contrast, he
notes, Japan's emergence as an economic giant in the 1980s generated far
more anxiety, according to opinion polls taken at the time.