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Trust crisis in US institutions as Chinese confidence rises, Edelman global poll finds
But the rest of the world still wary about Beijing’s growing role in international governance
22 January, 2018, 11:35pm
The Chinese public have the greatest confidence in their institutions while domestic trust in authorities in the United States crashed by a record margin during US President Donald Trump’s first year in office, according to a major survey released on the eve of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The sharp contrast revealed by the annual Edelman Trust Barometer followed a Gallup poll last week showing more people around the world considered China, rather than the US, a global leader, despite high worldwide disapproval of the Chinese leadership.
The results dovetail with analysts’ assessments that while Chinese President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive has reinforced one-party rule and gained popular support at home, the world still has mixed views about China’s growing role in global governance amid Washington’s declining leadership.
New Silk Road: Why China should be wary of overconfidence
The Edelman survey, based on 33,000 respondents, found that overall trust in the four institutions it measures – the government, media, business and non-governmental organisations – plunged more steeply in the US than in any of the 27 other countries surveyed.
Faith in the Chinese government jumped 8 points to 84 per cent, while in the US it fell 14 points to 33 per cent under Trump’s isolationist and “America first” agenda.
“The US is enduring an unprecedented crisis of trust,” said Richard Edelman, head of the communications marketing firm that commissioned the research.
The results come as world political and business leaders gather in the Swiss Alps resort of Davos for the four-day World Economic Forum starting on Tuesday
Trump is expected to attend and defend his protectionist policies in a speech on the final day.
Liu He, Xi’s top financial and economic adviser, will represent China at the summit, one year after Xi defended globalisation in a keynote speech amid anti-trade sentiment in the US and Europe and growing doubts over the Washington-led liberal international order.
Xi’s strong speech months before his confirmation as China’s most powerful leader in decades was widely seen as having spelt out Beijing’s ambition for a global leadership role.
But, even as global confidence in the US hit a decade-plus low, international views towards China’s rising power are still divided. According to the Gallup phone poll of more than 1,000 people in 134 countries, 30 per cent disapproved of the Chinese leadership.
“This year marks a significant change in our trends,” Gallup managing partner Jon Clifton wrote. This historic low of the approval of the US leadership “puts the US’ leadership approval rating on par with China’s and sets a new bar for disapproval”, he said.
Chinese nationalism is a double-edged sword for global ambitions
Wang Yiwei, director of Renmin University’s Institute of International Affairs, said the confidence among the Chinese respondents to the Edelman survey was partly due to Xi’s campaign to root out corruption, which has reinforced the legitimacy of the one-party rule and allowed Beijing to set its sights on a much bigger global role in shaping the US-led world order.
“China has the most stable politics among all the big powers, and no other country could have a ‘core leadership’ like Xi Jinping has in China,” Wang said. “China also has similar problems as the West, such as a widening wealth gap, but the government has a consensus when it is dealing with domestic and governance issues.”
But Wang said it was too early to jump to the conclusion that the US had failed.
“[The US] is still capable of taking the lead and its supremacy in the military and global finance remains unchallenged,” he said. “Many people in the US feel distrust towards their government so sometimes they have preconceived notions that their country is failing, which may not be true.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
(博讯北京时间2018年1月23日 转载)
年度「爱德曼全球信任度调查报告」显示，美国总统川普执政满一年，美国民众对美国机构，尤其是政府的信任度骤降；相较之下，中国民众对政府的信任度大幅提升。
路透社报导，在世界经济论坛（WEF）前夕发表的「爱德曼全球信任度调查报告」（Edelman Trust Barometer）显示，整体而言，美国民众对政府、企业、媒体与非政府组织（NGOs）的信任下滑幅度，是28个受调查国家中最多的一个。
川普多次谴责媒体与司法体系，批评人士认为，这些攻击有破坏大众对媒体与司法体系信心的风险。
相较之下，中国在国家主席习近平进一步巩固掌权后，看到自家民众的信任度提升，且升幅是28个国家中最大的。
在中国，政府信任度跃升8个百分点，来到84%；在美国，这个数字则下滑14个百分点，来到33%。
美国爱德曼公关公司（Edelman）负责人爱德曼（Richard Edelman）说：「美国正在承受前所未见的信任危机。」
爱德曼指说，美国信任度严重受损，是这份调查报告18年前开始至今，首度看到有信任度骤跌与经济危机无关，也与类似2011年日本福岛核灾的大型灾难无关。
美国当下经济不但没有问题，反倒展现出强劲成长，股市也屡创新高。
爱德曼说：「一般来说，一切顺畅安好的时候，信任度连带也很好。」他说：「渐渐的，信任与经济成果之间不再有关连。」（译者：周莉芳∕核稿：蔡佳敏）1070122
来源：中央社 (博讯 boxun.com)
