Based on Huntington's idea of the "performance dilemma" (PD) and using a comparative perspective, this paper analyses the internal relations between the various forms of political support in Chinese society. It draws together previous analyses so as to clarify the source of political support by the masses. By analyzing the 6th wave of the World Values Survey, this paper shows that, first of all, public assessment of the regime in China depends greatly on people's confidence in representative institutions. In advanced democracies such as Japan and the United States, public assessment of the regime draws on both individuals' confidence in representative institutions and their rejection of authoritarian alternatives. Secondly, the paper proves that when compared with variables related to other approaches, variables of perceived performance play a more important role in explaining the assessment of the system. In contrast to previous studies that linked high political support to authoritarian survival, this paper provides additional theoretical proposals for understanding the nature of political support and state legitimacy in China.