"Dislike for U.S. Grows Due to Trump"... Global Public Favors China More

Analysis suggests that global perceptions of the United States and China have shifted following the return of U.S. President Donald Trump to power.

According to the results of this year's major country survey released by the U.S.-based research firm Pew Research Center on July 15 (local time), the favorability ratings for the U.S. and China have reversed.

The median percentage of respondents across 20 major countries who expressed a favorable view of China was 46%, while the figure for the U.S. stood at just 36%, trailing by 10 percentage points.

From 2023 to 2026, the U.S. favorability rating dropped from 58% to 54%, 48%, and 36%, while China's rating rose from 32% to 33%, 38%, and 46% during the same period.

This shift in perception closely aligns with the trends in trust toward leaders such as President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The median percentage of respondents across 20 major countries who expressed confidence in President Xi to do the right thing regarding world affairs was 31% this year, while President Trump stood at only 21%.

Former U.S. President Joe Biden, during his term, maintained a significant lead over President Xi, who remained at 19% for two consecutive years, with ratings of 54% in 2023 and 47% in 2024.

However, in 2025, the first year of his second term, President Trump's trust rating was 32%, beginning to face a challenge from President Xi (25%), and was overtaken this year.

The 20 countries included in the comparison are South Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada, Australia, Spain, Greece, Italy, Sweden, Argentina, South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, Israel, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Kenya, and Indonesia.

It is generally observed that the reversal in favorability between the U.S. and China is a result of President Trump strengthening unilateralism since returning to power in 2025.

The second Trump administration has pursued aggressive foreign policies, including high tariffs, the invasion of Iran, threats to annex Greenland and Canada, and the arrest and forced repatriation of the President of Venezuela.

Conversely, China and President Xi, who faced extremely negative evaluations during the COVID-19 pandemic, are gradually restoring their reputation.

The Pew Research Center noted, "Looking at how global politics is unfolding, we can see that changes in perceptions of both the U.S. and China are occurring simultaneously."

Joshua Kurlantzick, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), a neutral private U.S. think tank, analyzed in an interview with The Washington Post, "The last two years have been a period where the idea of the U.S. as a reliable partner has completely collapsed," adding, "China has aggressively exploited that gap."

Across all 36 countries surveyed this year, 27 countries showed a higher percentage of people favoring China over the U.S.

Pakistan had the highest preference for China at 90%, followed by Nigeria (78%), Kenya (76%), and Sri Lanka (72%).

This is viewed as favorability stemming from economic cooperation with China through the Belt and Road Initiative (a modern Silk Road) and China's aggressive investment in Africa.

In a majority of U.S. security alliance countries, the percentage of people who feel more favorable toward China than the U.S. was also higher.

In the United Kingdom, traditionally the closest ally to the U.S., 46% felt favorable toward China, compared to 41% for the U.S.

Similar trends were observed in European allies such as France (35% vs. 27%), Germany (33% vs. 27%), Canada (44% vs. 33%), and Spain (54% vs. 30%).

In the majority of European security allies, favorability toward the U.S. dropped sharply since the start of President Trump's second term, falling below that of China.

This highlights the repercussions of the Trump administration's strengthened "America First" policy and its tendency to disregard alliances.

In U.S. Asian allies and Eastern Europe, it was found that more people favor the U.S. than China.

In South Korea, the percentages of those who feel favorable toward the U.S. and China were 45% and 28%, respectively.

Japan recorded 50% and 11%, India 45% and 23%, the Philippines 56% and 40%, Poland 49% and 39%, and Hungary 53% and 53%.

Israel was evaluated as having the strongest pro-U.S. sentiment among the surveyed countries, with 81% and 19% of respondents saying they favor the U.S. and China, respectively.

This year's survey was conducted from February to May among 42,151 adults in 36 major countries, with a margin of error of ±3.9 percentage points.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.