Trump era drives global opinion shift towards China as US favourability declines: Pew survey

China is now viewed more favourably than the United States across most of the world for the first time in roughly two decades, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

The survey, conducted between February 8 and May 13, 2026, among 42,151 adults across 35 countries and the West Bank and East Jerusalem, found that China enjoys higher favourability than the US in 25 of the 36 countries and territories surveyed. The US is viewed more positively in only six countries -- India, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Poland and Israel.

"China being assessed more positively than the US is a relatively recent shift in most countries surveyed," the report said, attributing the reversal to improving perceptions of China along with worsening views of the United States.

Trump's second term weighs on US image

Global perceptions of the US deteriorated during the early years of Donald Trump's second term, while confidence in the American president also declined rapidly.

More respondents expressed confidence in Chinese President Xi Jinping than in Trump in 22 of the 36 countries surveyed, including major US allies like Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. However, Pew noted that confidence in both leaders remained relatively low overall.

According to Laura Silver, associate director of Pew's Global Attitudes Research, the shift reflected declining confidence in Washington's role in maintaining international stability.

"There was just an actual relationship between the outbreak of the war and the sense that the US is just not contributing to peace and stability and that people have less confidence in Donald Trump," the Associated Press quoted her as saying.

The survey period coincided with increased uncertainties and churn globally with the US itself involved in a military campaign in West Asia against Iran. Other factors that hurt the Washington's standing abroad include threats to take control of Greenland, tariff disputes with allies, and US policy on the Israel-Hamas war.

Pandemic effect fades, China's image improves

According to the research, China's improving global image also reflects the fading impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which had severely damaged perceptions of Beijing in previous years.

The Chinese embassy in Washington welcomed the findings, saying they demonstrated that "China's governance achievements and development progress are widely recognized," the Associated Press report mentioned further.

Allies shift towards Beijing

Some of the most dramatic opinion shifts occurred among longstanding US allies.

In Canada, favourable views of the US dropped from 57 per cent in 2023 to 33 per cent in 2026, while positive views of China climbed from 14 per cent to 44 per cent over the same period. Trump's tariffs on Canadian goods and repeated remarks suggesting Canada could become the "51st state" coincided with the decline.

Major European countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands, also shifted towards viewing China more positively than the United States.

Even within the US, public opinion has narrowed considerably. Whereas Americans viewed their own country 32 percentage points more favourably than China three years ago, respondents now rate the two countries similarly.

China seen as more reliable in many middle-income countries

The survey also found growing support for China's global role across middle-income countries in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.

A median of 75 per cent of respondents in 17 middle-income countries said the US interferes in other countries' affairs, compared with 45 per cent who said the same about China.

Many respondents also described China as a more reliable partner and more likely than the US to contribute to global peace and stability.

However, the research also mention that the US is viewed favourable in China's immediate neighbourhood with India, Japan, the Philippines and South Korea. China is in territorial dispute with most of these countries.