A recent survey suggests that that Poles are becoming increasingly skeptical about China.
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April 01, 2021
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Throughout the last decade, Poland has tried hard to strengthen its ties with China. It joined Beijing’s 17+1 format, endorsed the Belt and Road Initiative, and signed two agreements on strategic cooperation with China. As a result, just like many other Central and Eastern European countries, it was deemed by some a “Chinese Trojan horse” for its alleged closeness with Beijing and its seemingly growing dependence on Chinese capital.
For about three years, however, many have pointed to Poland’s ongoing recalibration of its China policy, coupled with fading enthusiasm toward Beijing among the general public. What we lacked was quantitative data to support that claim. The most recent report published by members of the Sinophone Borderlands project fills that gap: A representative survey compiled by Adrian Brona from the Jagiellonian University together with Richard Q. Turcsányi, Matej Šimalčík, Kristína Kironská, and Renáta Sedláková revealed remarkable trends when it comes to the Polish public’s attitudes toward China.