Chasing a Phantom: A Re-evaluation of China’s “Trust Crisis”

Author(s)

H. Christoph Steinhardt, Xue Gong, Jan Delhey

Abstract

A “trust crisis” in China has garnered public concern and driven state social
engineering efforts. If China’s rapid development were to erode social trust, it would
contradict the optimistic theory of modernization and trust. This study draws on 11
probability survey samples, collected between 1990 and 2020, to re-evaluate the
surprisingly contradictory scholarly literature. It does not find robust evidence for a
decline or breakdown of social trust. Trust levels, and the trust radius, have modestly
increased over time. Modernization indicators are positively related to trust in most
people, the trust radius, and general trust. However, modernization is mostly negatively
associated with particular trust. Perceptions of social anomie are negatively related to
all forms of trust. The trust crisis appears to be a mismatch between a rapidly growing
demand for general trust and a sluggishly increasing supply. Survey items on trust in
most people should be used with more caution.

Organisation(s)

Department of East Asian Studies

External organisation(s)

Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg

Journal

Chinese Sociological Review

No. of pages

36

ISSN

2162-0555

Publication date

03-2024

Peer reviewed

Yes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

504007 Empirical social research, 602045 Sinology

Portal url

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/chasing-a-phantom-a-reevaluation-of-chinas-trust-crisis(44feb4c0-a5dd-4669-b863-27cf966943a4).html