China Receives Generally Positive Ratings from Global Publics. Pew Research

Pew Research

China Receives Generally Positive Ratings from Global Publics

A median of 55% of people across the countries surveyed (excluding China) have a favorable opinion of China. This includes majorities or pluralities with positive sentiment towards China in 27 of 39 countries. Favorable views are more concentrated in Africa and Latin America, but there are divergent opinions in China’s home region of Asia.

The most favorable views of China are found in Pakistan, Ghana, Russia and Malaysia. China has deep economic ties with each of these countries and has become more strategically entwined with Russia over the past year. This may help explain the 15 percentage point increase in positive views toward China in Russia since 2014. And in Malaysia, 88% of ethnic Chinese have a positive view of China, while roughly three-quarters of ethnic Malays (74%) agree with this assessment.

Elsewhere in Asia, views of China vary greatly. Half or more in Indonesia (63%), South Korea (61%), Australia (57%) and the Philippines (54%) hold a favorable opinion of China. A plurality of Indians agree (41% favorable, 32% unfavorable, 28% no opinion). People in Vietnam (74% unfavorable) and Japan (89%) have a decidedly negative view of their region’s dominant economic power.

Majorities or pluralities in all of the African and Latin American countries surveyed have a positive view of China. Highest praise can be found in Africa, where seven-in-ten or more in Ghana, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Tanzania, Nigeria, Senegal and Kenya have favorable views of Beijing. Meanwhile, around six-in-ten or more in Chile, Peru and Venezuela express favorable attitudes toward China.

Middle Eastern publics are more divided on China. Half or more in Israel and the Palestinian territories like China, but majorities in Jordan (64%) and Turkey (59%) do not. Israeli Arabs (85%) are much more likely to have favorable views, compared with Israeli Jews (49%). Overall, the Lebanese are split, but there is a distinct religious break among Shia Muslims (81% favorable), Christians (47%) and Sunni Muslims (29%).

Europeans and North Americans are less sanguine about the Asian giant compared with the rest of the world. In Europe, Germans and Italians have the highest unfavorable views of China (60% and 57%, respectively). The Spanish also have, on balance, negative views. People in France and Poland are almost equally divided, while slightly more people in the UK have a positive opinion of China (45%) than a negative one (37%).

In the U.S. and Canada, only about four-in-ten have a favorable view of China. Over half of Americans (54%) express an unfavorable view, but distaste for China is more evident among Republicans (63% unfavorable) than Democrats (50%).

In the past year, ratings for China have risen slightly across the 35 countries surveyed in both 2014 and 2015. In 2014, a median of 49% had a positive view of China across these countries, but in 2015 it is 54%. Meanwhile, negative views have dropped from 38% to 34%.

Positive opinions of China have become more common in 12 countries over the past year. Of note, Filipinos are more keen on China in 2014 compared with 2015 (+16 percentage points). This might be due to the fact that relations were at a low last year after a confrontation between a Filipino supply ship and a Chinese coast guard vessel in the South China Sea. And in India, which Chinese President Xi Jinping visited in the fall of 2014, favorable opinions of China are up 10 points.

Global Youth More Positive on China

In 18 countries surveyed, younger people are more favorable towards China than their elders. The largest difference between young and old on positive sentiment of China is found in the U.S., where 55% of young Americans (18-29 year-olds) have a favorable view of China while only 27% among those ages 50 and older agree. Significant age gaps of 15 percentage points or more also appear in Brazil, Spain, the Palestinian territories and Mexico.

South Korea is the only country with the opposite pattern. Older South Koreans have more favorable views of China than do their younger counterparts.

There is also a gender gap on opinions towards China. In 17 countries, men are more likely than women to have a positive view of China. This includes Germany, where 42% of men have a favorable view of China compared with only 25% of women. It should be noted that in Pakistan, Vietnam, Brazil, Argentina and many African countries, part of this gap can be explained by women being less likely to have an opinion about China.

Poor Marks for China on Human Rights

While overall ratings for China are mostly positive, that is not the case on the issue of individual liberty. Across 39 countries, a median of 45% say the Chinese government does not respect the personal freedoms of its people, while only 34% say that it does.

Publics in the EU and North America are the most likely to say that China does not respect the rights of its people. Around eight-in-ten or more among the eight countries surveyed in these regions say that China does not respect the freedoms of its people, including 93% in France, 92% in Germany, 88% in Spain, 86% in Canada and 84% in the U.S. No more than 11% in these places say that China respects individual liberty.

In Asia, publics are very divided on this issue. On the one hand, eight-in-ten or more in Japan (93%), Australia (81%) and South Korea (81%) say that China does not respect the rights of its people. On the other, six-in-ten or more in Pakistan (65%), Indonesia (60%) and Malaysia (60%) say the Chinese government does respect personal freedoms. Indians and Filipinos are split.

Middle Eastern publics are also divided on this issue. Nearly two-thirds in Israel (64%) and 58% in Turkey say Beijing ignores the human rights of its people. But around two-thirds in Lebanon (67%) and the Palestinian territories (66%) say China does respect personal freedoms. Israeli Arabs (54%) are much more supportive of China’s rights record than are Israeli Jews (20%).

Lebanese Shia Muslims (86%) and Christians (64%) are more likely than Sunni Muslims (49%) to give Beijing a positive rating on this question.

Russians also believe that China respects the rights of its people (52%), while only 29% of Ukrainians agree.

People in Africa are the most positive about China’s human rights record. A median of 60% across the nine African countries surveyed say the Chinese government respects personal freedoms. This sentiment is highest in Ghana (69%), Kenya (66%) and Ethiopia (64%). However, only 40% in South Africa say the same.

While not drastically changed since 2014, a year which saw a very public demonstration in Hong Kong regarding democratic rights for the Special Administrative Region, the belief that the Chinese government does not respect the human rights of its people is up across the 35 countries surveyed in both years.

Today, a median of 45% think the government of China does not respect the personal freedoms of its people, up from 40% in 2014. There were significant increases in the view that China does not respect individual rights in 14 of the countries surveyed in both years.

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