Five things we learnt about China in June
With some help from our Chinese community leader, we get some deeper insights into the most populous nation on earth
At Streetbees, we’ve been asking our Chinese bees what they think about key issues of the day, from citizenship to vegetarianism to the World Cup.
We found some results that we just couldn’t explain — so we asked our Chinese Community Leader, Annie, to do so through her on-the-ground knowledge!
1. Meat doesn’t cut it for most Chinese
You may associate Chinese cuisine with exotic meats, but 56% of Chinese are either vegetarian (27%) or pescatarian (29%). By contrast, in the US only 12% are vegetarian or pescatarian.
“The Chinese are very aware of the poor quality and lack of freshness of food,” says our Chinese Community Leader Annie. “There have been reports of water injection — not to mention imitation meat and eggs in some places in China.”
“China is also a Buddhist country,” Annie continues. “Buddhists, who have a plant-based diet, believe they must respect life and that it’s wrong to destroy it.”
However, Chinese are less likely than Americans to think that companies and scientists should be trying to create meat alternatives — 54%, compared to 69%.
“We are hesitant because we think there might be more preservatives added in the meat alternatives.”
2. Residence or parentage isn’t enough for full citizenship, says China
69% of Chinese believe living in the country or having a Chinese parent isn’t enough for full citizenship.
Knowledge of the country’s laws (77%), Knowledge of the country’s values (59%) and Language skills (58%) rank as the top three choices for other criteria required for citizenship.
“Patriotism and allegiance is very important in China,” Annie explains. “Many believe people should give up their former citizenship if they want to naturalise.”
1 in 3 also believe the country’s immigration laws should be stricter, and fewer than 1 in 4 believe immigration benefits the country.
“For a long time, China has been a closed and self-sufficient country. As a communist nation, people are educated to love the country and contribute to it. Historically, there has also been this stereotype of foreigners being harmful.
“However, today a lot of young people are travelling and living abroad now, and this generation is keen to see and experience the world! Most, though, would not give up their citizenship but are happy to assume dual-citizenship, if possible.”
3. China loves wasting time at work?!
65% of Chinese workers say they waste an hour or even more at work. This is figure is actually higher than in the UK (48%), the US (47%) and twice the figure in India (32%).
Despite this, the Chinese (67%) are less likely than Indians (80%) to agree that personal activities should be allowed at work.
They are also less likely to think that doing some personal activities during working hours increases productivity — 56% compared to 73% of Indians.
“A culture of discipline and observation is still very prevalent in the Chinese workplace,” Annie tells us. “China is a restrained society and people are socialised to not express their desires. So although people do waste time at work, there is still a taboo around it — it’s seen as indulgent.”
4. Let’s all move to Australia, China says
Australia (48%) is the most attractive country for Chinese aged 35 and under who are considering a move abroad.
Canada (33%) and France (29%) are the second and third most popular destinations, while the US and UK are outside of the top five.
“Entry to the US and UK is always very tricky for the Chinese; combine that with growing political instability, and we would rarely prefer actually moving to these two countries.
“By contrast, a move to Australia is a lot more straightforward as Chinese are investing heavily in property. It does mean that rent prices have shot up in the last few years.”
For young Chinese, a thirst for discovery is a bigger motivator for emigrating than studying or employment. 78% cited experiencing a different culture as one of their top three reasons to move.
Self-discovery (40%) and studying (32%) were the second and third most common choices, while only 22% cited greater job opportunities.
“We are seeing a change in Chinese migrants,” Annie says. “In the past they were usually quite poor and travelled to work abroad in order to send money back to their family in China.
“Today the typical Chinese traveller is very wealthy, and they will move abroad for a better standard of living — a better environment for their family or a better education for their kids.”
5. Japan won’t win the World Cup, Chinese people say
According to 65% of Chinese, regional rival Japan is the country least likely to win the World Cup.
South Korea and Australia are the second and third countries least likely to win, while Brazil is most likely to take the biggest trophy in world football.
“What can I say? The Chinese and Japanese have a love-hate relationship. Here we love all the tech and the trendy ideas from Japan, but there has obviously been a history of enmity between the two nations. Thankfully, today that is mostly seen on the sports field!”
1 in 3 Chinese told us one of the ways they enjoyed the World Cup was by shouting loudly at the TV and players during the matches. The most popular activities, though, were eating snacks (86%), drinking soft drinks (47%) and drinking alcohol (46%).
“For us an ice cold beer or Coca Cola accompanied by pumpkin seeds and peanuts is the perfect combination whilst watching sports. Shouting loudly at the TV, and leaving seed shells about the place is the typically “manly” thing to do,” Annie jokes.
“We are a very united country and we will cheer and shout for our team no matter which sport they are playing as we are proud to have them represent what is a very proud nation.”
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A quick word on our methodology: The figures in the article are taken from Streetbees community of members in China, carried out in June 2018. All of the data was collected by mobile and web surveys, and is accurate to within 3 percentage points 19 times out of 20.
