In the context of the current overt
global competition between China and the US for global dominance, it is
interesting to gauge the extent to which they could be successful in winning
hearts and minds globally, and particularly in the Middle East, where emotions
often run high due to political reasons.
اضافة اعلان
Policy makers,
observers, and business people who have worked with both countries often wonder
whether China will be as appealing to Jordanians as the US. Appeal is measured
through many methods, including by asking people how they feel about a
country, asking them to describe the level of political, economic, cultural,
military and security relations between countries, and asking them to rank
countries in terms of favorability.
These are useful
and important to know. However, what is more informative is to link perceptions
of countries to the very essential needs for survival (beyond food and
shelter), such as health care, education and professional training. If one trusts
a county’s health care system, formation through education, and professional
skills through which one makes a living, that country will surely be appealing.
One might not like
a certain policy of a country, as Jordanians disagree with the American policy
on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, for example, but this position does not
color their views about the system’s ability to do good in other fields.
In a recent survey
by NAMA Strategic Intelligence Solutions, we tried to address the issue of appeal
by asking Jordanians to choose “one” of these countries: US, Egypt, Turkey, UK,
Germany, Saudi Arabia, Canada, UAE, Russia, Qatar, Japan, or China for
education abroad, professional training, healthcare, and vacation.
Jordanians trust the American system for life essentials – health, education, and professional training – more than those of Germany, Britain, Canada, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkey and China.
The results of the
survey of 1,505 adult respondents who were interviewed face-to-face in October
2022 show that the US was the top choice for each of the first three
activities, with 18.3 percent of Jordanians indicating the US as their desired
destination for education, 18.9 percent for professional training, 33.2 percent
for health treatment, and only 4.9 percent for vacation.
China, the US’s
rival, however, trailed the list of these countries and was chosen by 0.3
percent for education, 2.2 percent for professional training, 0.5 for healthcare
treatment, and 0.1 for vacation.
Egypt was perceived
positively, especially for education, with 12.3 percent of Jordanians stating
that they would travel to Egypt to acquire education, followed by Turkey at
11.8 percent. Turkey was especially desirable for vacation; 51 percent of
Jordanians indicated that they would go to Turkey for vacation, followed by
Saudi Arabia at 12 percent. Germany was especially attractive for health
treatment (as the second choice after the US) to 11.4 percent of Jordanians,
followed by Egypt and the UK, at 8 percent each. For professional training, the
UAE ranked second (after the US), at 10 percent of Jordanians, followed by
Saudi Arabia and Germany, at 8 percent each.
In conclusion,
Jordanians and probably others (to be tested) trust the American system for
life essentials — health, education, and professional training — more than those of Germany, Britain, Canada,
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkey and China.
Fares Braizat is chairman of NAMA Strategic Intelligence Solutions.
fares@namasis.com
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