Chinese don’t ‘see’ China as world power

BEIJING - Agence France-Presse

More than 80 percent of Chinese say they do not yet see their country as a “world power,” according to a newspaper poll published yesterday.

A total of 82.3 percent of people surveyed said that China had yet to obtain world power status. The statistic made the front-page headline of the Global Times daily’s English language edition, but in the Chinese-language version the story was relegated to a low mention on an inside page. The Global Times said the poll was released by its Global Poll Center. The survey, carried out via telephone and the Internet, collected responses from 1,404 residents.

Asked what was “the most significant event that helped elevate China’s international standing” in 2012, 44.6 percent of respondents cited the Chinese navy taking delivery of the country’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning. A former Soviet vessel, it went into service in September in a symbolic milestone for China’s growing military muscle.