Upbeat Chinese May Not Be Primed for a Jasmine Revolution

by James Bell, Director of International Survey Research, Pew Global Attitudes Project
March 31, 2011

Chinese Very Happy With Course of Nation

Unlike the Egyptian public in recent years, the Chinese public has been overwhelmingly content with the direction in which their country is headed. In a spring 2010 survey by the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project, 87% of Chinese said they were satisfied with the way things were going in their country.¹ Just 28% of Egyptians said the same, compared with 69% who were dissatisfied with their country's direction. In both countries these findings were closely linked to views on the economy: 91% of Chinese characterized their country's economic situation as good, compared with only 20% of Egyptians who said the same. The number of Egyptians describing their country's economic situation as good fell by more than half, from 53% in 2007.
The Chinese were equally enthusiastic about the future of their economy. In spring 2010, nearly nine-in-ten (87%) expected the economic situation in China to improve over the next 12 months. This upbeat forecast echoed optimism found in earlier surveys. In Egypt, just 25% thought the economic situation would improve in the coming year, compared with 35% who said it would remain the same and 38% who anticipated the economic situation would actually worsen.