The Politics of Quality-of-Life Issues: Food Safety and Political Trust in China

As incomes have risen, quality-of-life issues have become increasingly prominent in China. How does the growing salience of quality-of-life issues affect Chinese politics and policy? Drawing on data from a Chinese national survey, the article examines the patterns of public attitudes toward food safety, a major quality-of-life concern in contemporary China. The article finds that the young, well-educated, as well as public sector employees tend to have a high level of concern for food safety risks. The article also finds that lack of confidence in food safety erodes public trust in both local and central authorities. These findings point to the importance of food safety as a public policy issue and help explain the Chinese leadership’s policy and institutional responses to food safety concerns.