China tops US in global favourability

What's happened

Pew Research Center has found that more people now view China more favourably than the United States in 25 of 36 countries surveyed. The poll of 42,151 people, conducted Feb.–May 2026, shows confidence in Chinese leader Xi Jinping has risen while confidence in U.S. President Donald Trump has fallen; the U.S. retains a lead on respecting personal freedoms.

What's behind the headline?

What the poll actually shows

• Pew has recorded a reversal: in 25 of 36 countries surveyed more people gave China a favourable rating than the U.S. This is the first time China has led in Pew's long-running global-tracking project.
• The survey found higher confidence in Xi Jinping than in Donald Trump in 22 countries; many respondents report low confidence in both leaders.

Why this happened

• The poll was conducted during Feb.–May 2026, when the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran. That period has led many respondents to view the U.S. as less stabilising.
• China’s favourability has improved as memories of the pandemic have faded and Beijing has amplified overseas influence efforts, including cultural and social-media outreach.

Who benefits

• China will gain diplomatic leverage from improved perceptions in middle-income countries and parts of Latin America and Africa. That will make Beijing's economic and political initiatives easier to advance.
• The Trump administration will face sustained damage to U.S. soft power among allies; falling trust will make coalition-building harder.

Near-term consequences

• Allies that have shifted opinions — such as Canada, several major European states and Mexico — will press Washington for clearer, steadier policy. This will force U.S. diplomats to prioritise relationship repair.
• Beijing will use the poll to legitimise its international posture and to justify expanded outreach. That will increase competition over influence in developing markets.

Forecast

• Public opinion will continue to swing with policy shocks. Unless Washington changes course and delivers consistent, coalition-oriented diplomacy, China will consolidate favourable perceptions in the coming year.

How we got here

Pew has tracked global views for about 20 years. The 2026 survey captured opinions during Feb.–May, a period that included military action involving the U.S. and Israel and high-profile Trump foreign-policy moves that critics say have strained alliances.

Our analysis

The coverage shares a common core: they all cite the Pew Research Center finding that more respondents in 25 of 36 countries now view China more favourably than the U.S. Axios summarised the poll with a clear datapoint: "The survey of 42,151 people found that more have confidence in Chinese leader Xi Jinping than in Trump," and flagged the Feb.–May fieldwork window that included strikes on Iran. The Guardian emphasised the diplomatic and cultural trends, arguing that the shift is driven by tensions between the Trump administration and allies and noting improvements for China in Latin America, Africa and parts of south and southeast Asia. It quoted Pew researcher Laura Silver explaining that the war period reduced confidence in U.S. leadership. The Independent reported country-level shifts, citing Canada’s fall from 57% favourable to 33% for the U.S. and Canada’s rise for China from 14% to 44%; it quoted Joshua Kurlantzick saying "China has aggressively stepped in to take advantage of that." The Japan Times took a more critical tone toward U.S. policy, saying the results are "consistent with the administration's unabashed 'America First' orientation." AP, France 24 and Bloomberg reiterated the core findings and the historical note that this is the first time in about 20 years of Pew tracking that China has surpassed the U.S. each included the statistic that only six countries still rate the U.S. more favourably (India, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, Poland and Israel). Put together, the sources converge on the same Pew data while varying in emphasis: Axios and AP focus on survey mechanics and numbers; the Guardian and Independent provide broader political interpretation and examples; Japan Times offers a pointed editorial framing. All sources attribute the findings to Pew and to Laura Silver or unnamed Pew researchers when quoting interpretation.

Go deeper

• How did favourability change in my country compared with 2023?
• Which policies by the U.S. have driven the biggest declines in allied opinion?
• How will China use improved favourability to expand influence in Latin America and Africa?

More on these topics

• Pew Research Center - Think tank

  The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the world.

• People’s Republic of China - Country in East Asia

  China, officially the People's Republic of China, is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population of around 1.4 billion in 2019.

• United States - Country in North America

  The United States of America, commonly known as the United States or America, is a country mostly located in central North America, between Canada and Mexico.

• Donald Trump - 45th and 47th U.S. President

  Donald John Trump is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021.

• Canada - Country in North America

  Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres, making it the world's second-largest c

• Xi Jinping - General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party

  Xi Jinping is a Chinese politician serving as the general secretary of the Communist Party of China, president of the People's Republic of China, and chairman of the Central Military Commission.

• Germany - Country in Europe

  Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central and Western Europe. Covering an area of 357,022 square kilometres, it lies between the Baltic and North seas to the north, and the Alps to the south.

• France - Country in Europe

  France, officially the French Republic, is a country consisting of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories.

• Israel - Country in the Middle East

  Israel, formally known as the State of Israel, is a country in Western Asia, located on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Red Sea.

• United Kingdom - Country in Europe

  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country located off the north­western coast of the European mainland.

• Iran (Islamic Republic of Iran) - Country in the Middle East

  Iran, also called Persia, and officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered to the northwest by Armenia and Azerbaijan, to the north by the Caspian Sea, to the northeast by Turkmenistan, to the east by Afghanistan a

• West Bank

  The West Bank is a landlocked territory near the Mediterranean coast of Western Asia, bordered by Jordan to the east and by Israel to the south, west and north. The West Bank also contains a significant section of the western Dead Sea shore.

• Australia - Country in Oceania

  Australia, officially known as the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands.

• Spain - Country

  Spain, officially the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southwestern Europe with some pockets of territory across the Strait of Gibraltar and the Atlantic Ocean. Its continental European territory is situated on the Iberian Peninsula.

• Gaza - Wikimedia disambiguation page

  Gaza most commonly refers to: Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip Gaza may also refer to:

• Netherlands - Country in Europe

  The Netherlands, informally Holland, is a country primarily located in Western Europe and partly in the Caribbean, forming the largest constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

• Beijing - Capital of China

  Beijing, alternatively romanized as Peking, is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the world's most populous capital city, with over 21 million residents within an administrative area of 16,410.5 km².

• Sweden - Country in Europe

  Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, Finland to the east, and is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund Strait.

• Italy - Country in Europe

  Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a sovereign country consisting of a peninsula delimited by the Alps and surrounded by several islands. Italy is located in south-central Europe, and is considered part of western Europe.

• South Korea - Country in East Asia

  South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea, is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea.

• Mexico - Country in North America

  Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea

• Venezuela - Country in South America

  Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many small islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea.

• Greenland - Territory

  Greenland is the world's largest island, located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. It is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.

• Japan - Country in East Asia

  Japan is an island country of East Asia in the northwest Pacific Ocean. It borders the Sea of Japan to the west and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south.

• East Jerusalem - Eastern part of Jerusalem, in dispute between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs since 1967

  East Jerusalem (Arabic: القدس الشرقية, romanized: al-Quds ash-Sharqiya; Hebrew: מִזְרַח יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, romanized: Mizraḥ Yerushalayim), the portion of Jerusalem east of the Green Line established formally by the armistice

• The Guardian - Newspaper

  The Guardian is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as The Manchester Guardian, and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers The Observer and The Guardian Weekly, The Guardian is part of the Guardian Media Group, owned by the S