America First? More Countries View China In A More Positive Light Than U.S. For The First Time In Decades

China is now seen more positively in many countries of the world than the U.S., according to a new study.

The Pew Research Center found that a majority of the 36 countries it surveyed now had a more positive view of China than the U.S. Also, more people believe that Chinese President Xi Jinping was likely to do the right thing than President Trump.

In 20 of the countries Pew surveyed, China was viewed positively by about 46 percent compared to 36 percent for the U.S.

Laura Silver, associate director of Pew’s Global Attitudes Research told the Associated Press that it was the first time 20 years of conducting the study that China was viewed more favorably than the U.S.

Silver said the declining view of the U.S. seemed tied to opinion about President Trump and the start of the Iran war in February.

“There was just an actual relationship between the outbreak of the war and the sense that the U.S. is just not contributing to peace and stability and that people have less confidence in Donald Trump,” she told the AP.

She went on to say that other factors include Trump demands regarding Greenland and its operation to capture former Venezuela leader Nicolás Maduro. U.S. policy regarding Israel and the war in Gaza have also not been popular.

“The U.S. has done a lot in terms of global engagement in recent months to years that is not being perceived positively internationally,” she told the AP.

Much of the world appears to have had a more positive view of former President Joe Biden. The Pew study found that in 2024, 47 percent believed that Biden would do the right thing, compared to only 19 percent for Xi Jinping. Since Trump has taken office, Jinping has trended northward while U.S. leadership has nosedived.

Now, 31 percent believe Jinping would do the right thing and only 21 percent believe that Trump would.

“While many people still lack confidence in Xi, positive views of him have become more widespread, and more overall now say they have confidence in Xi than in Trump,” the Pew study states.

The news wasn’t all bad for the U.S. When it comes to personal freedoms, the world still prefers the U.S.

About 39 percent believe that the U.S. respects the personal freedom of its people, compared to only 26 percent for China.

“More say the U.S. government respects the personal freedoms of its people than say the same of the Chinese government,” Pew stated. “Still, the gap has been narrowing – driven by large drops in the shares saying the U.S. government respects personal freedoms.”