Anti-corruption campaign

Another popular policy has been China's anti-corruption drive since 2012, the nonprofit news organization wrote.

The anti-corruption campaign sharply curbed official abuses encountered by the public, according to surveys.

Mr. Zhang (who asked CSM to withhold his first name to protect his privacy) is a retired private entrepreneur who was born and raised the son of a factory worker in Beijing. He is on the lower rung of China's new middle class.

Zhang has benefited not only from the country's economic boom, but from housing security and government spending on his health care and pension. He sums up popular attitudes with a simple story typical of his generation.

"When I was small, all we wanted was to be able to fill our stomachs. Then, gradually, you could eat well. If you wanted to eat an apple, you could buy an apple. If you wanted to eat meat, you could buy meat," he said.

In Zhang's eyes, steadily rising living standards equate to Beijing doing a good job.

"If my life is better day by day, if year by year it's going in a good direction, then what do I have to be upset about?" he said.