New survey reveals changing global attitudes
A new international survey by the Pew Research Center shows that public opinion is changing across the world. For the first time since the organization began tracking global views in 2002, more countries now have a favorable opinion of China than of the United States.
The survey included more than 42,000 people from 36 countries. Researchers collected responses between February and May to understand how people view the world’s two largest powers.
China gains support in many countries
According to the findings, people in 25 of the 36 countries viewed China more positively than the United States. This marks a major shift in global public opinion.
Several countries recorded some of the biggest changes in favor of China. These included Spain, Indonesia, Italy, Greece, and Canada. Public perception of China reached record highs in many places, while support for the United States declined.
Researchers noted that the United States experienced similar drops in popularity during the final year of President George W. Bush’s administration and at the beginning of Donald Trump’s first presidential term. However, China did not receive stronger support than the US during those earlier periods.
Only a few countries still favor the United States
Despite the changing trend, six countries continued to have a more favorable opinion of the United States than China. Those countries are Poland, the Philippines, South Korea, India, Japan, and Israel.
Most of these nations are long standing US allies and continue to maintain strong political and security partnerships with Washington.
Views on world leaders remain mixed
The survey also asked people about their confidence in US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Results showed that confidence in both leaders remained relatively low. However, Xi Jinping received slightly higher confidence ratings than Donald Trump in many countries.
Public sees China as less involved in foreign affairs
Many respondents believed China interferes less in the internal affairs of other countries than the United States. At the same time, people continued to believe that the United States respects personal freedoms more than China.
These findings suggest that many people separate political values from international influence when forming their opinions about global powers.
Global perceptions continue to change
The research also found that favorable opinions of the United States have steadily declined in recent years across many countries. In contrast, China’s image has improved over the same period.
Experts say these changing attitudes reflect evolving international relationships, economic influence, and public perceptions of each country’s role on the global stage.
As global politics continue to shift, future surveys will show whether this trend continues or changes in the coming years.
