China opinion survey gives Russia high marks; US, Japan seen as ‘unfavourable’

Annual Tsinghua poll shows most expect significant declines in America’s global influence within 10 years, but optimism about China’s growing global standing

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A new survey conducted by Tsinghua University reveals both pessimism and optimism among the Chinese public about their country’s relations with the US. Photo: AP

Published: 8:00pm, 1 Oct 2024

Chinese people hold favourable opinions about Russia but strongly unfavourable views towards Japan and the United States, according to the results of a survey by Beijing’s Tsinghua University.

However, the disapproval for America was mostly directed at the US government and its policies, rather than the general public, according to the Chinese Outlook on International Security survey, released on Monday.

The annual poll by the university’s Centre for International Security and Strategy (CISS) asked more than 2,600 people for their views on major powers, with 66 per cent of respondents expressing “very favourable” or “somewhat favourable” views toward Russia.

By contrast, nearly 76 and 81 per cent of respondents expressed “unfavourable” views towards the US and Japan, respectively. On a scale from one to five with five being “very favourable”, the US scored 1.85, down from 2.19 last year.

Japan, which is at odds with China over long-standing issues such as wartime history and territorial disputes, scored the lowest this year: 1.68, down from 2.19 last year. Japan and the US also ranked the lowest last year.

India, which is locked in a border dispute with China, scored 2.01.