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<p>Official-citizen interactions at the local level shape political trust in China’s central government, yet how villagers’ relations with local leaders influence this trust remains underexplored. Here the author analyzes data from the 2020 Guangdong Thousand Village Survey and extensive field interviews to identify two distinct trust transmission pathways: when villagers maintain positive relations with village leaders, their trust proportionally “trickles up” to the central government; conversely, for those with negative local relations, trust paradoxically “rebounds up,” as villagers differentiate between a benevolent central state and flawed local officials. This bifurcated process is shaped by villagers’ cognitive perceptions of the state’s structure and is moderated by institutional reforms enhancing vertical integration. These findings reveal that hierarchical trust in China is dynamic and resilient, allowing the central government to sustain legitimacy despite local governance challenges, thereby offering insights into the enduring stability of the Chinese Communist Party during crises such as COVID-19.</p>

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Trust in the Central Chinese Government and Village Leader Relations During the COVID-19 Pandemic

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月21日

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  • Jinrui Xi

摘要

Official-citizen interactions at the local level shape political trust in China’s central government, yet how villagers’ relations with local leaders influence this trust remains underexplored. Here the author analyzes data from the 2020 Guangdong Thousand Village Survey and extensive field interviews to identify two distinct trust transmission pathways: when villagers maintain positive relations with village leaders, their trust proportionally “trickles up” to the central government; conversely, for those with negative local relations, trust paradoxically “rebounds up,” as villagers differentiate between a benevolent central state and flawed local officials. This bifurcated process is shaped by villagers’ cognitive perceptions of the state’s structure and is moderated by institutional reforms enhancing vertical integration. These findings reveal that hierarchical trust in China is dynamic and resilient, allowing the central government to sustain legitimacy despite local governance challenges, thereby offering insights into the enduring stability of the Chinese Communist Party during crises such as COVID-19.