A new survey by the Pew Research Centre reveals a shift in global public opinion, with views of China and its leader Xi Jinping improving in several countries, while favorability toward the United States and President Donald Trump has notably declined.

Released on Tuesday, the survey suggests that global attitudes toward the two geopolitical superpowers are now more evenly matched than in recent years, marking a dramatic reversal from the Biden era, when international views of the US were consistently stronger than those of China.

In its latest survey of 24 countries, Pew found that the US was viewed more favourably than China in eight countries, China was viewed more favourably in seven, and the two were viewed about equally in the remainder. In particular, only 35% of respondents in 10 high – income countries — including Canada, France, Germany, and Italy-held a favourable opinion of the US, down from 51% just a year ago.

Pew surveyed more than 30,000 people across 25 countries, including the US, which was excluded from the comparison from January 8 to April 26. The margins of error for each country ranged from plus or minus 2.5 to plus or minus 4.7.

While the Pew Research Centre did not pinpoint a singular reason for the change, experts point to a combination of evolving geopolitical dynamics and perceptions of leadership. “As the US potentially looks like a less reliable partner and people have limited confidence, for example, in Trump leading the global economy, China may look different in some people’s eyes,” said Laura Silver, associate director of research at Pew.

Silver also noted that criticisms previously linked to China’s global image, such as its human rights record or pandemic response, may be less influential this year.

The findings arrive as President Trump faces growing criticism over his administration’s foreign policy decisions. A group of Democratic senators this week accused the administration of “ceding global influence to China” through a series of policy moves, including cutting foreign aid, slapping tariffs on traditional allies, and tightening immigration policies affecting international students.

In the Pew findings, 35% of those in 10 high-income countries surveyed, consistently including Canada, France, Germany and Italy have favourable opinions of the US, down from 51% last year. By comparison, 32% of them have positive views of China, up from last year’s 23%. And 24% of them say they have confidence in Trump, compared with 53% last year for Biden.

Xi scored a slight improvement: 22% of those in these rich countries say they have confidence in the Chinese president, up from last year’s 17%.

However, people in Israel have far more favourable views of the US than of China: 83% of Israelis like the US, compared with 33% who say they have positive views of China. And 69% of them say they have confidence in Trump, while only 9% express confidence in Xi.

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