The new data article released by the Pew Research Center on Monday (November 6th) compares previous views on the United States and China, and highlights the differences in more than ten indicators, including confidence in the leaders of the United States and China, and views on the economic and technological strength of the two countries.
The countries under study include developed economies in North America and Europe, as well as middle-income countries in the Asia Pacific region, Latin America, and Africa.
Leaning towards the United States
Research has found that when it comes to favoring the United States and China, high-income countries often "lean towards the United States". Japan and South Korea's support for the United States is 57 and 62 percentage points higher than China's.
The difference between middle-income countries surveyed and those who hold an "overall positive" view of the United States and China is relatively small.
   

The Pew Research Center stated that despite years of fluctuating views on China and the United States, since Biden took office, "the views of many surveyed countries have significantly rebounded," while views on China remain "among the most negative.
Christine Huang, a researcher at the Pew Research Center and one of the authors of the latest study, said, "When Bush took office in 2007, people's confidence in the US president was relatively low, but it increased after Obama took office in 2008

Richard Turcs á nyi, a Chinese foreign policy expert at the University of Olomotspalatsky in the Czech Republic, said, "High income countries often become allies of the United States, so they are satisfied with the current international order... They tend to lean towards democracy and therefore do not like China because it is an authoritarian system
He said that middle-income countries are rarely traditional allies of the United States and often "not fully democratic", so these countries hope to make some changes to the world to enhance their status.
Many of them suppress various feelings of dislike and injustice, usually targeting the United States, Europe, and the entire West, while China seems to be an alternative. Although they may not fully like Beijing, in their eyes, the difference between the United States and China will be less obvious, "he added.
The United States is a country with a stronger interventionist nature
Although the United States generally enjoys more favoritism than China, among the 24 countries surveyed, people have varying opinions on the foreign policies of Washington and Beijing.
Research shows that among almost all countries, the United States is more likely to be seen as an interventionist country than China. 93% of Greek respondents believe that the United States is a country that interferes in the internal affairs of other countries, while 56% believe that China is also doing the same, which leads to a 37 percentage point higher favoritism towards China than the United States in this regard. However, in Australia, only two percentage points more respondents believe that the United States is interfering with other countries.
In 24 countries, including Japan, Canada, and Mexico, more people still believe that the United States is more likely to consider their national interests than China. In addition, in 24 countries including South Korea, the United Kingdom, and India, more people believe that the United States has contributed to global peace and stability than China.
Researchers at the Pew Research Center say these results suggest that the global perception of the United States and China may not be as absolute as the overall positive reviews received by both countries.
Christine Huang from the Pew Research Center told VOA, "Careful observation of the respective images of the two countries will reveal in which aspects China is superior to the United States
Technology and Military Power
Research has found that compared to the views of the United States and China on indicators such as favorability and confidence in leaders, the differences in areas such as technological strength are not as prominent.
Among all surveyed countries, 72% of people believe that US technology is "best or above average", while 69% have similar views on Chinese technology. Although the overall difference is relatively small, respondents from Latin American countries such as Mexico and Argentina are more likely to give positive evaluations of China's technological achievements, while the United States' technological achievements often receive more positive evaluations in the surveyed Asian countries (including South Korea and Japan).
Christine Huang from the Pew Research Center told VOA that regional differences in views on technology in the United States and China may be related to differences in market penetration rates for various products. She said, "Chinese technology is particularly likely to be considered sophisticated in Nigeria, where Chinese companies currently control most of Nigeria's mobile market share
In each surveyed country, most people believe that the US military is above average or best, while only about half of the surveyed countries have the same view of China. But the Pew Research Center found that middle-income countries such as Mexico and high-income countries such as Germany do not have much difference in the ratings of the US and China's military forces.
Some researchers suggest that the results of public opinion research can provide important references for policymakers around the world. Tursani of the Czech Republic told VOA, "Many policy makers in countries rely on public opinion because they have to go through elections
He added, "If the prevailing sentiment around leaders is a negative view of China and there are not many economic promises, then these leaders will be voluntarily or unwillingly influenced by this sentiment and will take corresponding actions
Researchers at the Pew Research Center say they hope the results of this study can help policymakers and government officials better understand the geopolitical balance between the United States and China.
Laura Silver, deputy director of the Pew Research Center and one of the authors of the report, told VOA, "We cannot determine how it will be used. We hope officials can take a look at such investigation projects and learn from our research