The net approval rate decreased. We'll see if there's a consistent downwards trend when further surveys are conducted.
Decreased by a small margin. But still above 70%, which is the benchmark for "landslide" approval. Western politicians would kill to get even 50% approval rating. Don't be fooled by the Western mindset that the Chinese government is obsessed with public approval. The Chinese government are long term thinkers, and they do what is right for China first, even if that hurts its ratings in the short term. They would listen to the local officials talking about real issues rather than worrying about approval numbers. They want to solve the real issues first, even if that pisses off millions of Chinese citizens. The average Chinese will disapprove of government measures that hurts them in the short term, but would be beneficial for the longer term. When they finally enjoy the long term benefits, then they'll give the government their due approval.
Good governments always do what is right for the nation. They don't always do what is popular. What is popular is not always good for the country. Tax cuts and free handouts are some of the most effective ways to make you popular. But are they good for the country? The Indian government gives free food handouts to 800 million Indians. If you trust India's numbers, Modi is incredibly popular, hovering around 70% approval rating. A very popular move, but did Modi did the right thing for India in the long term? Handing out free food for the poor appears noble, but why are there still so many poor people in India even to this day? Its because Modi had failed to lift them out of poverty after almost 10 years in power. So he is giving out free food to keep the impoverished masses happy and sweep his policy failures under the carpet.
Popularity is not everything. Long term planning, decisive action, wisdom, and good governance is what truly matters. Fortunately China is not an electoral democracy. The CPC could appoint China's leaders by merit, without concern for poll ratings. If China was an electoral democracy, then there is a high chance that they vote into power not real leaders, but politicians. There are exceptions, but in general, short-term thinking, self-interested politicians tend to do better in electoral democracies than actual leaders. That kind of political system will decrease the quality of China's leadership and severely impede China's rise to become a new superpower.
