Replication Data for: The Power of Persuasion or the Persuasion of Power: The mechanisms of foreign policy opinion formation in China

Studies have frequently shown that the Chinese government is effective in shaping public opinions on foreign policies. However, when the government successfully persuades citizens, is it the messages or the messenger that matter more? We address this question through a survey experiment on foreign policy attitudes. Assigning the respondents randomly into three groups: a control group receiving only nationalist-leaning policy background information, a treatment group exposed to anonymous counterarguments, and a treatment group exposed to identical counterarguments but endorsed by the government, we find that the government-endorsed counterarguments lead to much more dovish opinions compared to anonymous counterarguments. Further analysis explores whether this endorsement effect is moderated by political fear and/or political trust. Our findings indicate that political fear conditions government endorsement much more than political trust. Our study deepens the understanding of the nature of political persuasion in an authoritarian context.