International Law

China?s Attitudes of the U.S.

By Stan

Dan at CLB calls it right on this:

There’s a great scene in the movie Dumb and Dumber where Jim Carey is seeking a date with Lauren Holley:

Carey: "What are my chances [of a date with you]?"
Holley: "Not good."
Carey: "You mean not good like one out of a hundred?"
Holley: "I’d say more like one out of a million."
Carey: [after a long, thoughtful pause] "So you’re telling me there’s still a chance?"

Pew’s recently released and amazingly comprehensive Global Attitudes Survey [pdf] has 1/3 of China’s population calling the US an enemy. Call me Careyesque, but I think that is pretty good. 41% of Chinese view the US favorably, as compared with only 31% in Germany and 33% in Spain.

Just think about the major U.S. news that has hit most Chinese over the past seven years, including the Iraq War, all the currency and trade criticisms (including some WTO litigation), product liability scandals, and even U.S. domestic stories like the disgraceful response to Hurricane Katrina (yes, that was discussed over here). Probably the most supportive thing to come out of the U.S. recently is Bush’s decision to attend the opening ceremonies next month.

Forty-one percent seems remarkably good.

Full post as published by China Hearsay on July 25, 2008 (boomark / email).