China is now viewed more positively than the United States in many countries worldwide, according to a new study by Pew Research Center, the first time the organisation has recorded that pattern at that scale.
The non-partisan, US-based think tank found favourable opinions of China have reached record highs in multiple countries, while perceptions of the United States have weakened. Pew said respondents also showed low confidence in both US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, though Xi was rated more positively than Trump.
Global views shift
Pew surveyed more than 42,000 people across 36 countries between February and May. Participants were asked whether they had a very favourable, somewhat favourable, somewhat unfavourable or very unfavourable view of each superpower.
Across the 36 countries, Pew reported that in 25 nations there were more respondents with favourable views of China than of the US. The centre said this marked the first time it had seen such a result across so many countries since it began tracking global sentiments towards the two powers in 2002.
Pew research director Jonathan Schulman said the organisation previously recorded dips in positive views of the United States, including in 2008 at the end of George Bush’s presidency and in 2017 at the start of Trump’s first term. Even during those declines, favourable views of China were generally similar to, or slightly below, those of the US, Schulman told the BBC.
In this year’s survey, major swings towards China were reported in Spain, Indonesia, Italy, Greece and Canada. Only six countries still preferred the United States more: Poland, the Philippines, South Korea, India, Japan and Israel, which are described as staunch US allies.
Pew also found that median favourable views followed different trajectories in its wider dataset. The median favourable opinion of the US across 20 countries fell steadily in recent years, while the median favourable opinion of China rose. Pew said favourable views of China increased in more than a third of the countries surveyed in recent years, based on an expanded dataset that included the United States.
The study also pointed to record highs for China in several places, including Italy, Spain, Colombia, Mexico, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria and Turkey.
Allies still back US
Pew said the pattern of attitudes often differed by country income level. Middle-income countries tended to hold more positive views of China, while wealthier countries were more likely to have negative views. One exception was Singapore, where Pew recorded both a high GDP per capita and a high level of positivity towards China.
In Asia-Pacific, Pew reported especially sharp contrasts. It said about 90% of respondents in Pakistan appeared to favour China, compared with 11% in Japan.
Confidence in Xi and Trump
Pew’s survey also asked respondents about confidence in Xi and Trump to do the right thing regarding world affairs. Overall, confidence scores were low for both leaders, with most countries recording results below 50%. Many countries, however, expressed more confidence in Xi than in Trump.
For Xi, Pew reported the highest rating was in Pakistan at 83% and the lowest was in Japan at 7%. For Trump, the highest confidence rating was in the Philippines at 68% and the lowest was 4% in the West Bank/East Jerusalem.
Schulman said the survey suggested people did not have as firm a view of Xi as they did of other political leaders, while respondents were more likely to give answers at the extremes when rating Trump.
Pew also found that while more people believed the US government respected personal freedoms more than China’s government did, the gap had narrowed. When asked about foreign policy, Pew said China was viewed as interfering less than the US in the affairs of other countries.
Foreign policy assessments
In additional questions Pew asked in several middle-income countries, a median of 75% said the US interfered in other countries’ affairs a great deal or a fair amount, while 45% said the same of China.
Similar studies by other groups have produced related but not identical results. Gallup reported last year that China surpassed the US in global approval ratings, with the widest gap in China’s favour recorded in 20 years. Separately, the Asia Society’s Global Public Opinion on China survey said China’s image, which dipped during the pandemic, had made only a modest recovery.
Carnegie China scholar Chong Ja Ian said Pew’s findings were consistent with expectations, citing what he described as the volatility of US policy and its economic effects, and saying that China can appear more predictable. He added that while people may not necessarily hold strong confidence in Xi personally, they can still show more positive views of China overall.
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16 July 2026
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