Pew: Chinese stay optimistic in an otherwise gloomy world

Friday, July 17, 2015, Vol. 39, No. 29

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite a recent slowdown, the Chinese feel better about their economy than people in any other country.

The Pew Research Center reports that a world-beating 90 percent of Chinese call their economy "good" and 84 percent expect things to be better in 12 months. Pew's survey of 45,000 adults in 40 countries found that only Nigerians and residents of West Africa's Burkina Faso are more optimistic about the next year.

China's economy is expected to grow 6.8 percent this year, slowest since 1990. But Pew found that Chinese feel sunnier than they did when their economy surged 14.2 percent in 2007.

People around the world are still gloomy six years after the end of the Great Recession: Just 45 percent —and 40 percent of Americans — describe conditions as good.