Chinese state media survey shows citizens’ least favorite country is Canada

In recent years, Canada has come to be seen as a desirable place to visit or live for Chinese citizens, however a new survey has shown that this may be changing.

Conducted by state owned Global Times Research Center, the survey puts Canada at the bottom of the list of Chinese citizens' favorite countries.

According to the Global Times, the survey collected responses from 2,148 people across 16 Chinese cities.

Taking top spot for Chinese citizens' favorite country was Singapore, with 14 percent of the votes, followed by Germany, France, the USA, and Russia. Canada found itself at the bottom with only 0.4 percent.

The survey also asked citizens to rank countries according to where they would most like to visit. Singapore took top spot in that category, as well, with the Global Times citing the nation's neutrality on China-US relations.

In contrast, Canadians have been critical of China's actions both at home and on the world stage. According to a recent poll, 68 percent of Canadians hold an unfavorable opinion of China. The "Two Michaels" and Meng Wanzhou sagas put a strain on Canada-China relations, as well as human rights abuses committed by the latter.

In December, Canada joined a number of countries in announcing a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Beijing Olympics, which are set to begin on February 4.

Given that tourism continues to be hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, whether these survey results translate into a tangible change in action remains to be seen.

Prior to the pandemic, Chinese tourists constituted one of the largest portions of visitors to Canada. As Destination Canada reports, 737,000 made the trip across the Pacific in 2018, staying for an average of 30 nights and spending around $2,850 per trip.

According to the 2016 census, Canada has the sixth largest population of people with Chinese heritage outside of China, at 1,769,195.