[Public Opinion Brief 49-2] Leadership Competition in Asia

[Public Opinion Brief 49] Evaluation of Global Leadership and Asian Leadership

1. Global Soft Power and Global Leadership Evaluation

2. Leadership Competition in Asia

Hu Jintao's Leadership, Through Asia

Asian Evaluation of President Lee Myung-bak: China, Next after Japan

- Hu Jintao (46%) > Taro Aso (37%) > Lee Myung-bak (34%) > Manmohan Singh (32%) > Kim Jong-il (24%)

Koreans Trust Hu Jintao the Most

A survey on the trust levels of major Asian leaders, including Chinese President Hu Jintao, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and North Korean National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il, among citizens of five Asian countries (China, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Taiwan), revealed that Chinese President Hu Jintao was evaluated as the most trusted Asian leader, receiving a 44% trust rating. This was followed by Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso at 37%, President Lee Myung-bak at 34%, and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at 32%. North Korean National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il showed the lowest trust rating at 28%.

Hu Jintao received high trust ratings above 50% in all countries except Indonesia (24%) (India 50%, South Korea 51%, Taiwan 60%). Asian citizens' trust rating for President Lee Myung-bak was highest in Taiwan (41%), and maintained above-average trust in China (38%) and India (37%). Notably, Chinese respondents gave identical positive evaluations of 38% to both President Lee Myung-bak and National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il. In Indonesia, the response rate for trusting President Lee Myung-bak was very low at 19%. This figure is even lower than the trust rating for National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il (22%). This appears to be influenced by the friendly relations with North Korea during the past non-aligned movement era.

Koreans showed the highest trust in Chinese President Hu Jintao (51%). This was followed by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (47%), President Lee Myung-bak (40%), and Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso (30%). Trust in North Korean National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il was a mere 6%. The trust in Chairman Kim Jong-il has fallen to half the level of the previous year's survey (12%), indicating a loss of trust from the Korean public due to recent issues such as the North Korean nuclear problem. In contrast to the overwhelming support received by Chinese President Hu Jintao and Indian Prime Minister Singh from their respective citizens, President Lee Myung-bak garnered only 40% support in South Korea.

[Figure 2] Trust (%) in Major Asian National Leaders among Citizens of Five Asian Countries

[Table 2] Evaluation of Asian National Leaders by Citizens of Five Asian Countries: Trust (%)

Note 1. Survey results from citizens of five countries: South Korea, China, India, Indonesia, and Taiwan. For evaluations of their own country's leader, the public opinion of citizens from that country was excluded from the calculation.

Note 2. Figures in parentheses represent the public opinion of their own country and were not included in the average calculation.