Negative views of China continue to dominate its international image, survey finds
- Pew Research poll of democracies shows dim view of China’s human rights record, little confidence in Xi Jinping’s handling of foreign affairs
- Slight improvement seen in global views about China’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, with double-digit percentile increases in nine nations
Unfavourable views of China among the world’s most advanced economies stand at or near record highs, despite improving assessments of how the country has handled the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new public opinion poll.
A survey across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific released on Wednesday by the Washington-based Pew Research Centre showed respondents’ dismal judgment of China’s respect for human rights; little confidence in Chinese President Xi Jinping to handle foreign affairs responsibly; and, increasingly, a prioritising of economic ties with the US over those with China.
On Beijing’s respect for personal freedoms, negative opinions reached record highs in seven countries: Italy, South Korea, Greece, Canada, Australia, Britain and the Netherlands.
They were among 17 democracies included in Pew’s survey, which polled almost 19,000 adults between February and May.
In Japan, those with negative views of China rose to 88 per cent, nearing 2013’s record high of 93 per cent at the height of territorial disputes in the East China Sea.
And in South Korea, where spats with China over culture and history have fuelled a rise in anti-China sentiment, more than nine in 10 people said China did not respect its citizens’ personal freedoms, up from eight in 10 in 2018.