China now viewed more favourably than U.S. in 20 countries, Pew survey finds

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More than a year after Donald Trump’s return to the White House, a new survey shows the United States is now less popular in many countries than China, a remarkable turnaround for the two superpowers.

Across 20 countries surveyed by the Pew Research Center, 46 per cent of respondents said they had a favourable opinion of China, while just 36 per cent felt the same about the U.S., an almost complete reversal of the same survey question a year ago − and a big drop from 2023, when 58 per cent of respondents viewed the U.S. positively.

Asked about Mr. Trump’s leadership, just 21 per cent of respondents said they had confidence that he would “do the right thing regarding world affairs,” compared with 54 per cent for his predecessor Joe Biden. Just more than 30 per cent said they trusted Chinese President Xi Jinping, up from 25 per cent last year.

Respondents in Canada felt the same way, with approval of the U.S. dropping 24 points since 2023, while China’s favourability among Canadians has more than tripled. Mexico, too, has seen a similar transformation in sentiment toward its North American neighbour.

Broken down by country, the gap in sentiment can be staggering, with differences of 75, 56 and 43 points between the rating for China and for the U.S. in Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia, respectively. All three have been bruised by Mr. Trump’s trade war, and public opinion in the Muslim-majority countries also strongly opposes U.S. support for Israel and the wars in the Middle East.

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But even in countries traditionally regarded as friendlier or at least neutral toward Washington, such as Singapore, Sweden and Australia, more people said they viewed Beijing favourably.

This tracks with similar research the think tank published last month, which found that confidence in Mr. Trump had fallen even in countries with conservative governments. In the survey released Wednesday, more Argentinians and Italians viewed China more positively than they did the U.S., while in Hungary, the sentiment was split almost equally.

According to Pew, the U.S. is viewed significantly more positively than China in just six countries: Poland, the Philippines, South Korea, India, Japan and Israel. Notably, all four Asian countries in this list have continuing territorial or diplomatic disputes with China that may be affecting sentiment toward Beijing, and only in Israel and the Philippines did a majority of respondents view the U.S. favourably (81 per cent and 56 per cent, respectively).

The Pew survey was carried out between February and May of this year, so some respondents may not have been feeling the worst economic effects of the Iran war, including fuel, fertilizer and food shortages that are particularly acute in parts of Asia and could get worse over the summer.

In Canada, 44 per cent of respondents saw China favourably, while just 33 per cent said the same thing about the U.S. − representative of both a major decline in Canadians’ favourable opinion of America, from 57 per cent in 2023, and a big change in opinions of China.

In 2023, just 14 per cent of Canadians felt positively toward Beijing, a legacy of years of tense relations owing to allegations of Chinese interference in Canadian politics and the detention in China of two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.

Since Prime Minister Mark Carney took office last year, however, relations between Ottawa and Beijing have improved dramatically, as Mr. Carney has sought to move Canadian trade away from an increasingly unstable and hostile U.S. under Mr. Trump.

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Wang Yiwei, the director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University in Beijing, said both Canada and Mexico have been suffering “the most obvious extortion and pressure from the U.S.”

“Coupled with the Canadian Prime Minister’s rather successful visit to China, it is hardly surprising that a middle power like Canada has begun to shift its attitude toward China,” he added.

Beijing has been happy to play the part of responsible superpower, in contrast to Mr. Trump’s often erratic policy making, particularly when it comes to the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. While Washington has tried to press China to use its influence over Tehran to force the Iranian government to concede to U.S. demands, Beijing has largely stayed out of the conflict, all the while preaching peace and condemning the disruption it has wrought on the global economy.

Prof. Wang said that, under Mr. Trump, the United States “puts America first, extorts its allies and imposes tariffs on the world, which has seriously damaged its image.”

“China, although facing some skepticism from certain people, has at the very least put forward initiatives that are inclusive,” he said. “The contributions it has made − especially its genuine help to the Global South − are clear.”