Overview
- Pew Research Center released the survey on July 15 showing that in 25 of 36 countries more people view China favorably than the United States.
- Across 20 countries with comparable data since 2023 the median favorability was 46% for China and 36% for the U.S., reversing trends from recent years.
- Respondents in 22 of the 36 countries expressed greater confidence in Xi Jinping than in President Donald Trump even though confidence in both leaders remains low.
- Analysts and Pew researchers attribute the shift mainly to declining views of U.S. leadership driven by Trump-era policies, tariffs, and the U.S. role in the Iran war rather than a single dramatic surge in pro-China sentiment.
- The gap on perceived respect for personal freedoms still favors the United States but has narrowed sharply, and the shift is strongest in many middle‑income countries and some traditional U.S. partners such as Canada and parts of Europe.