WASHINGTON — Overwhelming numbers of Chinese say next month’s Olympics will help their country’s tattered image abroad, and they predict the Beijing Games will be successful, according to a poll released Tuesday.
The survey, conducted this spring by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center, comes as much of the international media’s pre-Olympics coverage has been a black eye for Beijing, focusing on attempts to clamp down on internal dissidents and diminish air and water pollution in time for the games.
The poll also found strikingly large numbers of Chinese are happy with their nation’s overall direction, booming economy and how its government is handling important problems. Yet most are deeply worried about rising prices, pollution and the gap between rich and poor.
Ninety-three percent said they believe the Olympics will help China’s image around the globe. A similar number voiced confidence that the games will go well: 96 percent said their hosting of the Aug. 8-24 competition will be successful.
In both cases, the optimism was shared by people of all ages and income groups, and men and women alike.
The findings point to a divergence between the Chinese sense of their image overseas and how foreigners view them. In the new poll, three-quarters of Chinese believe their country is liked abroad. Yet of 23 other countries where Pew has polled this year, China is viewed positively in only seven.
There was a wave of anti-Western sentiment in China this spring after the Olympic torch relay was beset by protests in Europe and the U.S. of Beijing’s crackdown on dissenters in Tibet and other issues.
About half of Chinese view the U.S. unfavorably, including a third who see it as an enemy, the poll said.
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