exerted pressure on RMB appreciation and required China to open the public
procurement market. These problems in China-EU relations affected Chinese public
opinion. However, this decrease in popularity among the general public was not
subversive and did not fundamentally change the good impression and evaluation
of the EU on the part of the Chinese.
10.9.2 Chinese Views of the EU Resulted from China’s
Active Strategic Guidance Concerning the EU
China attempted to treat the EU from the perspective of international
multi-polarization, and actively supported the EU’s development. China had
developed a consistent policy for supporting European integration and supported it
in order to become a pole in the world and an influential force in the international
community. This positive policy tone set by China affected public perceptions.
10.9.3 Public Opinion Reflected the Complicated Inner
World of the Chinese Common People Amid
Globalization and the Rapid Development
of the Country
A completely random sampling survey on the Chinese common people was con-
ducted under the 2010 EU 7th Framework Programme. According to this survey,
most of the common people were satisfied with their current“self”and believed that
most people were trustworthy, that most people treat others fairly, and 82.0 % of
the common people agreed with this view; the mindset of the people towards
win-win cooperation was relatively prominent.^2 However, national interest per-
ceptions of the Chinese common people also deserve attention; in response to the
question“Can China trust other countries?”, 55.9 % of the Chinese common people
agreed, while 39.3 % disagreed. However, as high as 71.9 % of the Chinese
common people agreed with the view that“most countries in the world hope to
benefit from China as long as there are opportunities”.^3 The Chinese common
people were open-minded on the one hand, and conservative for the sake of national
interests on the other hand. This ambivalence was obviously reflected in the
Chinese people’s perceptions of the EU.
(^2) Analysis was based on data from“How Chinese treat the EU”survey under the EU 7th
Framework Programme.
(^3) Source: the same as above.
10 The Chinese Perception of the EU 199