According to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center, public opinions in 24 countries, mostly wealthy nations, have become more favorable towards the United States than towards China. The gap in favorability between the two largest economies in the world has widened since President Joe Biden took office in 2021. The report found that while favorable views of both countries declined in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, China’s ratings remained low during the latest survey, resulting in some of the largest gaps in views ever seen in Pew’s polling.
The release of this report comes at a time when the United States and China are vying for global influence. President Xi Jinping aims to gain respect and trust for China worldwide, while President Biden has made it a priority to repair relationships with U.S. allies.
The report states, “This year, overall views of the United States are much more positive than views of China in most places surveyed. But this has not always been the case in our nearly two decades of favorability polling, and views of the countries have fluctuated alongside views of their leaders.”
In 2019, the survey recorded a median of 55% across 22 countries expressing favorable views of the U.S., compared to a median of 39% for China. In 2020, with a smaller set of countries surveyed due to the pandemic, medians of 38% and 25% had favorable views of the U.S. and China, respectively. However, in 2023, medians of 58% and 21% had positive views of the U.S. and China, respectively, in the same countries surveyed. It is important to note that these medians are based on the 10 countries surveyed in both years, excluding the U.S. and Australia.
The largest gaps in favorable views of the U.S. and China were found in Poland, Japan, and South Korea, where over 70% of respondents rated the U.S. positively, compared to less than 30% who viewed China favorably. This is significant considering the historically tense relationship between Japan and South Korea, both neighbors of China. In August, President Biden held a trilateral summit with Japan’s prime minister and South Korea’s president at Camp David, signaling a strong partnership countering China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
However, favorable public opinions of the U.S. and China were more closely aligned in middle-income countries like Indonesia, South Africa, and Mexico. In Nigeria, China overtook the U.S. in favorability, with both countries being highly favored. It is worth noting that middle-income countries accounted for about one third of the countries surveyed, and no low-income countries were included in the study.
Pew researchers were unable to conduct in-person surveys in less developed countries due to the pandemic. However, they plan to expand their country coverage to a more economically and geographically diverse set of countries as travel becomes easier.
China’s leadership has touted the country’s increasing number of friends and stronger friendships around the world, particularly among developing nations. China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure building scheme, is said to have brought economic benefits to foreign countries and enhanced Beijing’s international standing, despite criticism from the West regarding potential debt and environmental harm.
The report also highlights that public views of the U.S. have shifted over time in correlation with changes in the presidency. Confidence in President Biden was recorded at a median of 56% across 22 countries, compared to 19% for President Xi in 2023. In 2019, the medians for confidence in President Donald Trump and President Xi were 31% and 28%, respectively.
In the latest survey, Poland had the widest gap of 75 percentage points, with 83% expressing confidence in President Biden and only 8% in President Xi. Similar gaps were observed in countries such as Germany, Japan, and Sweden, although the gap narrowed in middle-income countries. The report states that these gaps reflect souring attitudes towards President Xi in high-income countries and greater confidence in President Biden, particularly compared to his predecessor, President Trump.
The report also reveals that in 2007, when different leaders were in power in both the U.S. and China, the gaps in favorability between the two nations were narrower. At that time, a median of 53% across 15 countries had favorable views of the U.S., compared to a median of 43% for China. In 2023, the medians for the same countries were 59% for the U.S. and 27% for China.
Other findings from the Pew polls include the perception that the U.S. is more likely to interfere in the affairs of other countries compared to China. Most countries also believed that the U.S. accounted for their country’s interests more than China did. Additionally, the U.S. received higher marks than China for contributing to global peace and stability, with Japan expressing the greatest difference in opinion.
Overall, the Pew Research Center’s survey highlights the shifting favorability of the United States and China in the global arena. It demonstrates the impact of changing leadership and geopolitical dynamics on public opinions towards these two influential nations.
