Poll of Chinese suggests decoupling would be a ‘mistake’, researchers say

Overall, respondents saw Russia as China’s most trusted partner, with a score of 5.4, whereas Japan and the US were lowest at 2.6, and the remaining jurisdictions scored between 3.8 and 4.1.

However, when asked if they were in favour of China expanding economic relations, there was a marked increase in scores. While Russia remained highest at 5.6, the EU came in second at 5.0, while the remaining jurisdictions all scored between 4.0 and 4.8.

Respondents also gave higher scores when asked about expanding technology and research collaboration, as well as the importance of these countries to China’s future.

“Despite rising tensions between China and most Western jurisdictions, we see that there’s a strong desire by the Chinese population to directly engage Western jurisdictions,” said Reza Hasmath, a member of the China Institute’s research team who presented the report on Wednesday.