MaltaToday survey | We like Merkel, Chinese cash, and think Ebola is the greatest threat to the world

China is the only one of the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India China and South Africa) included in the survey associated with progress and economic might.

But despite the remarkable transformation, which saw the emergence of a capitalist class in China co-existing with one party rule, 14% still associate the emerging giant with communism. But 11% associate China with economic and technological progress and 6% associate it with trade progress. A further 5% referred to its economic power, which according to some may lead to global dominance. Despite this awe at China’s economic prowess 12% associate China’s economy with cheap labour and products and child labour.

Only 1% associate China with the iconic Tiananmen revolt. None associate China with military might, an issue which is creating concern in South East Asia. Instead a tenth associate China with its food, reflecting the proliferation of Chinese restaurants in Malta over the past two decades.

Read the full survey in MaltaToday