The world has largely viewed the U.S. more favorably than China for years, but those opinions have flipped in Beijing's favor this year, according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center. More people have favorable views of China than the U.S. in 25 out of the 36 countries and territories that were surveyed, including Canada and Mexico.
The change is driven by improved perceptions of China and declining views of the United States. The world has largely viewed the U.S. more favorably than China for years, but those opinions have flipped in Beijing's favor this year, according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center.
More people have favorable views of China than the U.S. in 25 out of the 36 countries and territories that were surveyed, including Canada and Mexico. The poll was conducted from February to May, a period when the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran. In only six countries do people still see the U.S. more positively than China, according to the findings released Wednesday.
As Trump goes to China, what do Americans say about tariffs, Iran, and world standing? Views in 22 out of the 36 countries and territories also are more favorable of Chinese leader Xi Jinping than U.S. President Donald Trump, including in Canada, Mexico, and major European powers including France, Germany, and the U.K. However, people in many of the countries have low confidence in both men.
It marks the first time in the roughly 20 years Pew has been tracking global opinions that China has been viewed more positively than the U.S. The shift follows the COVID-19 pandemic becoming a distant issue and as global views of the U.S. have soured. Trump's demands to control Greenland, the American military raid that captured Venezuela's then-leader Nicolás Maduro, and the U.S. handling of the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza also have led to low approval in many countries.
The U.S. has done a lot in terms of global engagement in recent months to years that is not being perceived positively internationally. China appears to have gained from comparison with the U.S., as it is seen to be a more reliable partner in many places. Notably, those in some U.S. allied countries have drastically shifted their views in recent years, such as Canada.
In the new survey, only 33% of Canadians have positive views of the U.S., down from 57% in 2023. Over the same period, their favorable opinions of China rose from 14% to 44%. Major European countries have switched their opinions toward the world's two largest economies. People in the U.K., where about 6 in 10 held positive views of the U.S. in 2023, now view China and the U.S. similarly.
Three years ago, the spread was 32 percentage points in Washington's favor. Of the six countries where people have more favorable views of the U.S., Israel leads the way. About 8 in 10 Israelis view the U.S. positively, compared with 19% for China. The other five countries are Japan, India, South Korea, the Philippines, and Poland.
Even their views of the U.S. have dimmed over recent years. The U.S. is still ahead of China when it comes to government respect for personal freedoms, though the gap is shrinking. While China's standing has improved somewhat, the narrowed divide is driven largely by the fact that people in nearly every country surveyed have become less likely to say the U.S. government respects its people's personal freedoms since 2021
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