China favored over US globally as international opinion shifts

China has surpassed the United States in favorable international opinion, with 25 out of 36 surveyed countries viewing China more positively than the US, according to a recent poll by US research firm Pew Research Center. This marks the first time since the center began tracking global public opinion on major powers in 2002 that China has outranked the US.

The survey of over 42,000 adults revealed that even traditional US allies, including Canada and several European nations, now hold more favorable views of China. Only six countries, South Korea, Japan, India, the Philippines, Poland, and Israel, maintained a more positive view of the US than China. However, even in these nations, positive views of the US have been gradually weakening in recent years.

In Canada, US favorability plummeted from 57% in 2023 to 33% in the latest survey, while views of China surged from 14% to 44%, reversing the trend. Similarly, in the United Kingdom, a close US ally, favorability for the US was 32 percentage points higher than for China in 2023. The latest poll shows the US at 41% and China at 46%.

Favorability ratings for the US in Western European nations like Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden hovered around 25%, with China's ratings also around 30%. In South Korea, the US led China 45% to 28%. Israel showed the highest favorability for the US (81%), while Japan had the lowest for China (11%). Pakistan expressed the highest favorability for China (90%).

Analysts attribute this reversal in global public opinion not primarily to China's actions, but to the US's conduct since the Trump administration and a growing fatigue with its policies. Laura Silver, an associate director at Pew Research Center, noted a direct correlation between perceptions of the US not contributing to global peace and stability, including its involvement in wars, and declining trust in President Donald Trump. Conversely, China, after a dip in favorability during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been gradually shedding its negative image and successfully cultivated an image as a relatively predictable and stable partner compared to the US's often confrontational diplomacy.

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There is a direct correlation between the perception that the US is not contributing to global peace and stability, including its involvement in wars, and the declining trust in US President Donald Trump.