To Chinese, Canadian identity is a little fuzzy
GEOFFREY YORK
Globe and Mail
BEIJING — Even after decades of close connections, the Chinese are still not quite sure what they think of Canada – although they vaguely like us.
A new poll suggests that Canada lacks a strong identity in China. While most Chinese have a generally favourable view of Canada, they describe Canada with a hodgepodge of fuzzy words such as “quiet” and “friendly,” even “leisurely.”
The poll exposes some of the obstacles that Canada faces as it tries to capitalize on its favourable image in the world's fastest-growing economy.
It suggests that the Chinese continue to see Canada primarily as a place to emigrate or study – the traditional role that Canada has played for affluent Chinese since the 1980s.
Despite decades of trade and diplomatic links, Canada has failed to forge a strong image in the eyes of most Chinese. Other countries – the United States, France, Britain among them – have a much clearer identity among Chinese, even if this identity is sometimes stereotypical.
Canada has long enjoyed a vaguely positive image in China, largely because so many Chinese have relatives who studied at Canadian universities or emigrated to Toronto or Vancouver.
Many Chinese also have a positive view of Canada for historical reasons, including Canada's early recognition of Communist China, its decision to send grain in the 1960s, and the fact that Mao Zedong eulogized the Canadian surgeon, Norman Bethune, for his sacrifices for Mao's army in the 1930s.
But the Canadian government has struggled to transform this positive image into diplomatic influence or commercial benefit. The new poll highlights both the opportunities and the challenges that remain.
The poll of 1,056 residents in five of China's biggest cities, conducted in November by N-Dynamic Market Research of Shanghai in collaboration with the Environics Research Group Ltd. of Toronto, asked the Chinese to rank 31 countries according to their impressions of which was best. The poll found that Canada ranked seventh of the 31 countries in terms of general impressions.
Of the poll respondents, 18 per cent had a good impression of Canada, far behind countries such as Switzerland (31 per cent) and Australia (25 per cent) and slightly behind the United States (19 per cent) – but ahead of Britain, South Korea, Italy and 21 other countries.
When the Chinese were asked to describe Canada in a single word, there was no clear agreement. Almost one-third said Canada was “friendly” or “leisurely.” One-quarter said Canada was “quiet,” while 19 per cent said “rich” and 16 per cent said “steady.”
Most other countries, by contrast, were clearly associated with one or two characteristics. The U.S. was described as “strong” by 67 per cent and “rich” by 55 per cent of the Chinese respondents, while France tended to be called “romantic” and Italy tended to be called “artistic.”
The Chinese ranked Canada relatively highly for its good works on the international stage, putting it sixth-best of the 31 countries for its global environmental leadership and seventh-best for its contribution to international peace and security.
But only 6 per cent saw Canada as a top economic power, and only 3 per cent ranked Canada as a leader in science and technology.
Canada also ranked poorly as a potential destination for Chinese tourists, with only 10 per cent of the Chinese identifying Canada as one of the most desirable tourism destinations.
“Canada's lower rank in this area can be attributed to the fact that Chinese are most keen to visit countries that stand out as offering advanced capitalism (such as the United States and Japan), natural scenery (Switzerland and Australia) or history and culture (Greece and Egypt),” a report by Environics commented. “Canada is not well-known in China for any of these attributes.”
The only good news was Canada's high ranking as a welcoming place for Chinese students, emigrants and investors. Canada ranked as the fifth-best place for studying abroad, and the fourth-best place to invest.
Canada scored its best performance as a destination for emigration. It was chosen by 32 per cent of Chinese as the best place to which they could emigrate. This made it the second-highest ranked destination for Chinese emigrants, trailing behind only Australia.
“This ranking may be in part because it is well-known that there is a significant Chinese population well-established in Canada,” the report said.
Earlier polls have confirmed that Canada is seen as one of the two or three favourite destinations for Chinese emigrants. But Canada's high ranking as a potential site for investors is a major surprise. Canada has always struggled to attract Chinese investment in the past. This has begun to change in recent years, but the total level of Chinese investment in Canada is still relatively small.
GEOFFREY YORK
Globe and Mail
BEIJING — Even after decades of close connections, the Chinese are still not quite sure what they think of Canada – although they vaguely like us.
A new poll suggests that Canada lacks a strong identity in China. While most Chinese have a generally favourable view of Canada, they describe Canada with a hodgepodge of fuzzy words such as “quiet” and “friendly,” even “leisurely.”
The poll exposes some of the obstacles that Canada faces as it tries to capitalize on its favourable image in the world's fastest-growing economy.
It suggests that the Chinese continue to see Canada primarily as a place to emigrate or study – the traditional role that Canada has played for affluent Chinese since the 1980s.
Despite decades of trade and diplomatic links, Canada has failed to forge a strong image in the eyes of most Chinese. Other countries – the United States, France, Britain among them – have a much clearer identity among Chinese, even if this identity is sometimes stereotypical.
Canada has long enjoyed a vaguely positive image in China, largely because so many Chinese have relatives who studied at Canadian universities or emigrated to Toronto or Vancouver.
Many Chinese also have a positive view of Canada for historical reasons, including Canada's early recognition of Communist China, its decision to send grain in the 1960s, and the fact that Mao Zedong eulogized the Canadian surgeon, Norman Bethune, for his sacrifices for Mao's army in the 1930s.
But the Canadian government has struggled to transform this positive image into diplomatic influence or commercial benefit. The new poll highlights both the opportunities and the challenges that remain.
The poll of 1,056 residents in five of China's biggest cities, conducted in November by N-Dynamic Market Research of Shanghai in collaboration with the Environics Research Group Ltd. of Toronto, asked the Chinese to rank 31 countries according to their impressions of which was best. The poll found that Canada ranked seventh of the 31 countries in terms of general impressions.
Of the poll respondents, 18 per cent had a good impression of Canada, far behind countries such as Switzerland (31 per cent) and Australia (25 per cent) and slightly behind the United States (19 per cent) – but ahead of Britain, South Korea, Italy and 21 other countries.
When the Chinese were asked to describe Canada in a single word, there was no clear agreement. Almost one-third said Canada was “friendly” or “leisurely.” One-quarter said Canada was “quiet,” while 19 per cent said “rich” and 16 per cent said “steady.”
Most other countries, by contrast, were clearly associated with one or two characteristics. The U.S. was described as “strong” by 67 per cent and “rich” by 55 per cent of the Chinese respondents, while France tended to be called “romantic” and Italy tended to be called “artistic.”
The Chinese ranked Canada relatively highly for its good works on the international stage, putting it sixth-best of the 31 countries for its global environmental leadership and seventh-best for its contribution to international peace and security.
But only 6 per cent saw Canada as a top economic power, and only 3 per cent ranked Canada as a leader in science and technology.
Canada also ranked poorly as a potential destination for Chinese tourists, with only 10 per cent of the Chinese identifying Canada as one of the most desirable tourism destinations.
“Canada's lower rank in this area can be attributed to the fact that Chinese are most keen to visit countries that stand out as offering advanced capitalism (such as the United States and Japan), natural scenery (Switzerland and Australia) or history and culture (Greece and Egypt),” a report by Environics commented. “Canada is not well-known in China for any of these attributes.”
The only good news was Canada's high ranking as a welcoming place for Chinese students, emigrants and investors. Canada ranked as the fifth-best place for studying abroad, and the fourth-best place to invest.
Canada scored its best performance as a destination for emigration. It was chosen by 32 per cent of Chinese as the best place to which they could emigrate. This made it the second-highest ranked destination for Chinese emigrants, trailing behind only Australia.
“This ranking may be in part because it is well-known that there is a significant Chinese population well-established in Canada,” the report said.
Earlier polls have confirmed that Canada is seen as one of the two or three favourite destinations for Chinese emigrants. But Canada's high ranking as a potential site for investors is a major surprise. Canada has always struggled to attract Chinese investment in the past. This has begun to change in recent years, but the total level of Chinese investment in Canada is still relatively small.
Being #1 only makes you a target.