Survey: The Global South Highly Appreciates China

The survey, the latest in an annual series by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, found that an average of 56 percent of respondents in 17 middle-income nations in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia held an overall “positive” view of China.

That contrasts sharply with an average of 24 percent of respondents in 18 high-income nations (including the United States) who shared that assessment. The one exception in the high-income group was Singapore, where 67 percent of respondents said their view of China was “positive.”

The survey also found a clear divide in views about China’s influence on global peace and security between respondents in India, Japan, and South Korea on the one hand and respondents in six smaller countries in South and Southeast Asia on the other. A solid majority in the second group agreed that Beijing has contributed “a lot” or “quite a bit” to peace and security, while a large majority in the first group rated Beijing’s contribution as “not too much” or “not at all.”

The survey, which interviewed more than 44,000 respondents in 34 countries, excluding the United States, between January and May, is the latest in an annual series stretching back more than two decades. In addition to Singapore, India, Japan and South Korea, the countries surveyed in the Asia-Pacific region included Australia, Bangladesh, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

In Europe, representative samples of respondents were interviewed in France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Spain and the United Kingdom. In the Americas, the survey covered Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Canada, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, while in sub-Saharan Africa, it surveyed respondents in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. Respondents were also interviewed in Israel, Tunisia and Turkey.

The latest report found that the United States enjoys more favorable views than China, both in high-income countries where an average of 53% rated the United States as “positive,” and in middle-income countries where an average of 61% of respondents said they had a “positive” view.

In Malaysia, Singapore, Tunisia, and Turkey, more people have a positive view of China than the United States, while views are roughly evenly split among respondents in Bangladesh, Greece, Nigeria, Peru, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

A key finding from the latest survey makes it clear that perceptions of China’s global economic influence are now well established. In 10 of the 13 countries where respondents were asked, in both 2019 and 2024, about China’s impact on their country’s economy, significantly more said China has a “big impact” than they did five years ago.