A view of Haikou, South China's Hainan Province Photo: VCG

"The 21st century is more likely to belong to Beijing than to Washington." A joint poll released on March 15 by the US outlet Politico and the UK polling firm Public First shows that citizens of US' "big four staunch allies" - Canada, the UK, France, and Germany - consider that "it is better to depend on China than the US," with younger generations holding particularly positive views. In recent days, several US media outlets also discussed the phenomenon of "Chinamaxxing," even suggesting that this trend could bring about deeper transformations in the modern American workplace. Together, these pieces of information make the puzzle of shifting Western perceptions clearer.

This multinational survey, conducted in the US, Canada, the UK, France, and Germany, had a total sample size of 10,289 and is regarded within the industry as "highly accurate." Notably, Canada, the UK, France, and Germany are among the most established members of the "Western club," so changes in their public opinion to some extent can be regarded as a reflection of a broader shift in the Western world's view of China. The reasons are not hard to discern: In times of turmoil, markets seek security, capital values stability, and nations rely on trustworthy partners. Undoubtedly, China provides the world's most scarce resource today: certainty.

Ultimately, trust is never built through slogans; it accumulates through continuity, stability, and the ability to deliver. Those who can stand firm amid stormy seas naturally become others' "ballast stone." China's development goals are clear, its policy directions stable, its strategic planning coherent, and its international cooperation predictable - all demonstrating the composure and weight befitting a major power.

In fact, the findings by Politico are not an isolated case. Several major Western opinion polls in recent months have reached similar conclusions. For example, in July 2025, a survey released by the Pew Research Center, covering more than 30,000 respondents across 25 countries, also showed that global favorability toward China had risen to its highest level in six years. In January this year, a joint survey by the European Council on Foreign Relations, a well-known European think tank, and the University of Oxford, even stated bluntly that "the world appears to be becoming more open to China."

The Chinese economy's continuation on a positive trajectory provides the most direct and convincing basis for the world's confidence in the country. On March 16, China's National Bureau of Statistics released economic data for the first two months of the year, drawing widespread attention. 

According to Reuters, China's industrial output grew 6.3 percent in January-February from the same ‌period a year earlier, beating a 5 percent expansion forecast in a Reuters poll and marking the quickest growth since September last year. "China entered the year with a firmer growth footing than previously thought," the report quoted an economist as saying. At a time when many economies around the world are either grappling with persistent inflation, struggling with slowing growth, or dealing with the lingering effects of deindustrialization, China's ability to stabilize its economic fundamentals while advancing structural upgrading is itself a remarkable achievement.

When it comes to the development of a major country, the more critical the stage, the greater the test of leadership, institutional resilience, and social mobilization capacity. In an article, the US magazine Foreign Affairs used the subtitle "How Beijing Turns Predictability into Power." What the outside world sees today is not merely a China maintaining steady growth, but a country capable of linking long-term planning with practical implementation, aligning economic vitality with social stability, and connecting technological innovation with industrial upgrading. The world's trust in China is not only trust in its economic data, but also trust in the governance capacity and institutional logic behind it.

China's focus on handling its own affairs well is the greatest contribution it can make to the world. Today, global industrial and supply chains are still experiencing turbulence and adjustment, and there is a general lack of confidence, demand, and direction in the international market. In this context, China's ability to maintain growth serves as an important engine for stabilizing the world economy; China's expansion of opening-up creates greater space for international cooperation; China's development of new quality productive forces injects new momentum into global industrial upgrading and green transformation; and China's maintenance of social stability provides the world with a reliable production network and market space. 

China does not export crises, shift contradictions, or rely on aggressive tactics to compete for interests. Instead, it focuses on stabilizing its own path and managing its own affairs well, providing the world with more certainty, more opportunities, and more confidence. 

This is the realistic foundation for the optimistic view of the Chinese economy and the deep reason why the international community increasingly values and trusts China.

Looking to the future, as the world becomes more turbulent, China must remain stable and solidify its own affairs. With the official release of the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) for national economic and social development, the construction of Chinese modernization has entered a new chapter. It is foreseeable that a China that continually transforms its development blueprint into reality, converts its institutional advantages into governance effectiveness, and translates domestic stability into international certainty will undoubtedly win broader global trust.