「差序政府信任」指的是大眾政治信任如何隨不同層級政府而有所差異。中國社會是否具有「信任中央高於地方」的態度特徵，是近年學界開始關注的研究焦點。然而，文獻多以特定群體爲主，這項態 度的普遍性仍待更多實證研究支持。本文以2012年「世界價値調查」全國範圍的面訪資料爲例，探索中國民眾差序政府信任態度樣態。分析結果顯示，約有七成五受訪者信任中央高於地方，顯示差序信任態 度在中國社會應相當普遍。其次，本文從體制形塑與績效認知觀點出發，建構差序政府信任的解釋框架。經由一系列的實證分析，本文將中國社會差序信任的來源總結爲上訪制度、政治動員兩形塑路徑。其中，績效認知相關因素（中央、地方政府施政評價與家戶經濟評價） 對差序信任態度具重要中介影響。相較於傳統單一標的之信任感研究，差序政府信任的概念更能反映當前中國社會的民意特質。

“Hierarchical government trust” indicates that political trust varies according to the level of government. Many scholars have argued that within Chinese society, trust in the central government is higher than trust in local governments. However, the literature is primarily focused on specific groups, and still needs to be verified with more representative surveys. Using comprehensive survey data from the 2012 World Values Survey in China, this article demonstrates that Chinese citizens have varying levels of political trust according to the level of government. The results show that approximately 75 percent of respondents had higher trust in the central government than in local governments, demonstrating that “hierarchical government trust” is prevalent in Chinese society. Second, this article uses the perspectives of institutional shaping and perceived performance as a starting point to explain hierarchical trust in government in China. Through empirical analysis, this article identifies the petitioning system and political mobilization as two contextual factors shaping institutions. Perceived performance (central and local government performance and assessment of family economic condition) has a mediating effect on the higher trust in central government. Finally, the article argues that hierarchical government trust is a more suitable approach for understanding the nature of public opinion in China, and identifying its political implications.