Pew survey finds China overtakes US in global favourability for first time
A Pew survey found China is now viewed more favourably than the United States across most surveyed countries. The shift suggests weakening trust in Washington and a comparative lift for Beijing's global standing.
A new Pew Research Center survey has found a major shift in global opinion, with China now viewed more favourably than the United States in most of the countries and territories covered in the poll. The findings, released on Wednesday, mark the first time in about 20 years of Pew tracking that China has been seen more positively than the US.
According to the survey, more people had a favourable view of China than the US in 25 of the 36 countries and territories surveyed, including Canada and Mexico. Only six countries viewed the US more positively than China. The poll was conducted from February to May, during a period when the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran.
The survey also found that people in 22 of the 36 countries and territories had a more favourable view of Chinese President Xi Jinping than of US President Donald Trump. This included Canada, Mexico and major European countries such as France, Germany and the UK. At the same time, Pew said many respondents across these countries had low confidence in both leaders.
Laura Silver, associate director of Pew's Global Attitudes Research and one of the researchers on the study, said this was the first time China had moved clearly ahead of the US in the survey's history. She said views of Beijing and Washington had been close at different points in the past, but China had not previously been rated significantly more favourably than the US.
Silver said the change came as the COVID-19 pandemic became a more distant issue and as views of the US worsened. "There was just an actual relationship between the outbreak of the war and the sense that the US is just not contributing to peace and stability and that people have less confidence in Donald Trump," she said.
She said Trump's demand to control Greenland, the American military raid that captured Venezuela's then-leader Nicolas Maduro, and the US approach to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza had also contributed to low approval in many countries. "The US has done a lot in terms of global engagement in recent months to years that is not being perceived positively internationally," she said.
Silver said China appeared to have benefited not only from fading memories of the pandemic but also from being compared with the US. "By comparison, we know that China is seen to be a more reliable partner in many places. It's more likely to be seen to contribute to global peace and stability," she said.
The shift was especially sharp in some US-allied countries, including Canada. In the latest survey, 33 per cent of Canadians had a positive view of the US, down from 57 per cent in 2023. Over the same period, favourable views of China among Canadians rose from 14 per cent to 44 per cent. The article noted that Trump had imposed a wave of tariffs on Canadian goods last year and had also said Canada could become "the 51st state".
Major European countries including France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden and the Netherlands also shifted their views on the world's two biggest economies. In the UK, where around six in 10 people viewed the US positively in 2023, people now see China and the US in similar terms. Three years ago, the gap had been 32 percentage points in Washington's favour.
Among the six countries where the US still had a more favourable image than China, Israel ranked highest. Around eight in 10 Israelis viewed the US positively, compared with 19 per cent for China. The other five countries were Japan, India, South Korea, the Philippines and Poland, though Pew said even in these countries views of the US had weakened over recent years.
The report said the US still remained ahead of China on perceptions of government respect for personal freedoms, but that gap was narrowing. It said the change was "driven largely by the fact that people in nearly every country surveyed have become less likely to say the US government respects its people's personal freedoms" since 2021, when Pew last asked the question.
Pew said it surveyed more than 42,000 people across 35 countries, along with the West Bank and East Jerusalem, with margins of error ranging from 2.3 to 5.5 percentage points depending on the country. Overall, the survey pointed to a broad shift in international opinion, with China gaining ground as views of the US turned weaker across much of the world.
With PTI Inputs
A new Pew Research Center survey has found a major shift in global opinion, with China now viewed more favourably than the United States in most of the countries and territories covered in the poll. The findings, released on Wednesday, mark the first time in about 20 years of Pew tracking that China has been seen more positively than the US.
According to the survey, more people had a favourable view of China than the US in 25 of the 36 countries and territories surveyed, including Canada and Mexico. Only six countries viewed the US more positively than China. The poll was conducted from February to May, during a period when the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran.
The survey also found that people in 22 of the 36 countries and territories had a more favourable view of Chinese President Xi Jinping than of US President Donald Trump. This included Canada, Mexico and major European countries such as France, Germany and the UK. At the same time, Pew said many respondents across these countries had low confidence in both leaders.
Laura Silver, associate director of Pew's Global Attitudes Research and one of the researchers on the study, said this was the first time China had moved clearly ahead of the US in the survey's history. She said views of Beijing and Washington had been close at different points in the past, but China had not previously been rated significantly more favourably than the US.
Silver said the change came as the COVID-19 pandemic became a more distant issue and as views of the US worsened. "There was just an actual relationship between the outbreak of the war and the sense that the US is just not contributing to peace and stability and that people have less confidence in Donald Trump," she said.
She said Trump's demand to control Greenland, the American military raid that captured Venezuela's then-leader Nicolas Maduro, and the US approach to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza had also contributed to low approval in many countries. "The US has done a lot in terms of global engagement in recent months to years that is not being perceived positively internationally," she said.
Silver said China appeared to have benefited not only from fading memories of the pandemic but also from being compared with the US. "By comparison, we know that China is seen to be a more reliable partner in many places. It's more likely to be seen to contribute to global peace and stability," she said.
The shift was especially sharp in some US-allied countries, including Canada. In the latest survey, 33 per cent of Canadians had a positive view of the US, down from 57 per cent in 2023. Over the same period, favourable views of China among Canadians rose from 14 per cent to 44 per cent. The article noted that Trump had imposed a wave of tariffs on Canadian goods last year and had also said Canada could become "the 51st state".
Major European countries including France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden and the Netherlands also shifted their views on the world's two biggest economies. In the UK, where around six in 10 people viewed the US positively in 2023, people now see China and the US in similar terms. Three years ago, the gap had been 32 percentage points in Washington's favour.
Among the six countries where the US still had a more favourable image than China, Israel ranked highest. Around eight in 10 Israelis viewed the US positively, compared with 19 per cent for China. The other five countries were Japan, India, South Korea, the Philippines and Poland, though Pew said even in these countries views of the US had weakened over recent years.
The report said the US still remained ahead of China on perceptions of government respect for personal freedoms, but that gap was narrowing. It said the change was "driven largely by the fact that people in nearly every country surveyed have become less likely to say the US government respects its people's personal freedoms" since 2021, when Pew last asked the question.
Pew said it surveyed more than 42,000 people across 35 countries, along with the West Bank and East Jerusalem, with margins of error ranging from 2.3 to 5.5 percentage points depending on the country. Overall, the survey pointed to a broad shift in international opinion, with China gaining ground as views of the US turned weaker across much of the world.
With PTI Inputs
A new Pew Research Center survey has found a major shift in global opinion, with China now viewed more favourably than the United States in most of the countries and territories covered in the poll. The findings, released on Wednesday, mark the first time in about 20 years of Pew tracking that China has been seen more positively than the US.
According to the survey, more people had a favourable view of China than the US in 25 of the 36 countries and territories surveyed, including Canada and Mexico. Only six countries viewed the US more positively than China. The poll was conducted from February to May, during a period when the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran.
The survey also found that people in 22 of the 36 countries and territories had a more favourable view of Chinese President Xi Jinping than of US President Donald Trump. This included Canada, Mexico and major European countries such as France, Germany and the UK. At the same time, Pew said many respondents across these countries had low confidence in both leaders.
Laura Silver, associate director of Pew's Global Attitudes Research and one of the researchers on the study, said this was the first time China had moved clearly ahead of the US in the survey's history. She said views of Beijing and Washington had been close at different points in the past, but China had not previously been rated significantly more favourably than the US.
Silver said the change came as the COVID-19 pandemic became a more distant issue and as views of the US worsened. "There was just an actual relationship between the outbreak of the war and the sense that the US is just not contributing to peace and stability and that people have less confidence in Donald Trump," she said.
She said Trump's demand to control Greenland, the American military raid that captured Venezuela's then-leader Nicolas Maduro, and the US approach to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza had also contributed to low approval in many countries. "The US has done a lot in terms of global engagement in recent months to years that is not being perceived positively internationally," she said.
Silver said China appeared to have benefited not only from fading memories of the pandemic but also from being compared with the US. "By comparison, we know that China is seen to be a more reliable partner in many places. It's more likely to be seen to contribute to global peace and stability," she said.
The shift was especially sharp in some US-allied countries, including Canada. In the latest survey, 33 per cent of Canadians had a positive view of the US, down from 57 per cent in 2023. Over the same period, favourable views of China among Canadians rose from 14 per cent to 44 per cent. The article noted that Trump had imposed a wave of tariffs on Canadian goods last year and had also said Canada could become "the 51st state".
Major European countries including France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden and the Netherlands also shifted their views on the world's two biggest economies. In the UK, where around six in 10 people viewed the US positively in 2023, people now see China and the US in similar terms. Three years ago, the gap had been 32 percentage points in Washington's favour.
Among the six countries where the US still had a more favourable image than China, Israel ranked highest. Around eight in 10 Israelis viewed the US positively, compared with 19 per cent for China. The other five countries were Japan, India, South Korea, the Philippines and Poland, though Pew said even in these countries views of the US had weakened over recent years.
The report said the US still remained ahead of China on perceptions of government respect for personal freedoms, but that gap was narrowing. It said the change was "driven largely by the fact that people in nearly every country surveyed have become less likely to say the US government respects its people's personal freedoms" since 2021, when Pew last asked the question.
Pew said it surveyed more than 42,000 people across 35 countries, along with the West Bank and East Jerusalem, with margins of error ranging from 2.3 to 5.5 percentage points depending on the country. Overall, the survey pointed to a broad shift in international opinion, with China gaining ground as views of the US turned weaker across much of the world.
With PTI Inputs
