'Xi Jinping is better' — favorable views of China hit 20-year high as Trump's return sours US image

Since Donald Trump's return to the White House, international favorability toward the United States has dropped sharply while views of China have improved — with majorities in most surveyed countries now viewing China more positively than the US, according to a new survey.

Experts say the shift reflects China's expanding diplomatic and economic influence filling a vacuum left by the Trump administration's unilateral approach, marked by steep tariffs, military interventionism and pressure on allies.

The Trump administration has pursued a series of aggressive foreign policy moves, including imposing high tariffs, threatening to invade Iran, threatening to annex Greenland and Canada, and pushing to arrest and extradite Venezuela's president.

Meanwhile, China and President Xi Jinping — whose images took a hit internationally during the COVID-19 pandemic — have been gradually recovering their standing.

"The way global politics is unfolding shows that shifts in perceptions of both the US and China are happening simultaneously," the Pew Research Center said.

Joshua Kurlantzick, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told The Washington Post that "the past two years have been a period in which the idea of the US as a reliable partner has completely collapsed," adding that "China has aggressively moved in to fill that gap."

In this year's survey, 27 of the 36 countries polled reported higher favorability toward China than toward the United States.

Pakistan recorded the highest favorability toward China at 90 percent, followed by Nigeria at 78 percent, Kenya at 76 percent and Sri Lanka at 72 percent. Analysts attribute the trend to positive perceptions generated by China's Belt and Road Initiative and its expanding investment in Africa.

Similar shifts were detected among traditional US allies. In the United Kingdom, 46 percent of respondents expressed favorable views of China, compared with 41 percent for the US. China also outpaced the US in France (35 percent vs. 27 percent), Germany (33 percent vs. 27 percent), Canada (44 percent vs. 33 percent) and Spain (54 percent vs. 30 percent).

Among European security allies in particular, favorability toward the US has fallen noticeably since Trump's return to power, with his America-first stance and dismissive attitude toward alliances seen as key factors.

In parts of Asia and Eastern Europe, however, the US still held an edge in favorability.

South Korea recorded 45 percent favorability for the US against 28 percent for China, while Japan showed 50 percent for the US and 11 percent for China. India stood at 45 percent versus 23 percent, the Philippines at 56 percent versus 40 percent, Poland at 49 percent versus 39 percent, and Hungary at 58 percent versus 53 percent.

Among all countries surveyed, Israel was the most pro-American, with 81 percent expressing favorable views of the US. Favorable views of China were limited to 19 percent.

The survey covered 42,151 adults across 36 countries between February and May this year, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

The findings suggest that US-China competition has moved beyond economic and military rivalry into a contest for global trust and goodwill. Experts say global public opinion is likely to keep shifting depending on how US alliance policy and China's economic and diplomatic strategies evolve.