The 2025 global public opinion landscape is no longer a static map of American dominance. While the US maintains a median favorability of 49% compared to China’s 37%, the Pew Research Center’s Spring 2025 survey reveals a significant "closing of the gap." Over the past year, views of the US turned negative in 15 of 24 surveyed countries, while sentiment toward China improved in 15 of 25. This shift is most visible in the "favorability freefall" occurring in North America (Canada, Mexico) and Europe (Poland), contrasted with China’s steady gains in the Global South.
dominant "Top-Left" pro-US cluster and the emerging "Bottom-Right" pro-China cluster.
Source: Spring 2025 Global Attitudes Survey, Pew Research Center.
The primary driver of this shift is a historic change in economic perception. For the first time in the tracking series, more people globally now identify China as the world’s leading economic power (41%) than the United States (39%). This is a major departure from 2023, when the US held a comfortable lead in this category.
This pivot is most extreme in Mexico, where the sentiment shift has been near-total. Favorability toward the US crashed from 61% in 2024 to just 29% in 2025. Simultaneously, 45% of Mexicans now prioritize economic ties with China over the US, a massive jump from just 15% a decade ago. In nations like Indonesia and South Africa, China is now named as the most important ally, while the US is increasingly cited as a top security threat.
Public sentiment has also been heavily influenced by a lack of international confidence in US President Donald Trump compared to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
- The Trump Deficit: In 19 of 24 countries, confidence in the US president is low. In Mexico, confidence in Trump stands at a staggering 8%, while in major European 'allies' like Germany and France, it hovers at 25% or lower.
- The Xi Rise: While Xi's overall confidence remains low (25% median), it has actually increased in 16 countries over the last year. In Mexico, people are now four times more likely to trust Xi (36%) than Trump.
Perhaps the most telling sign of a long-term shift is the demographic divide. In nearly every nation, adults under 35 are significantly more favorable toward China
than those over 50. Even in the US, younger Americans are 20 points
less likely to view China with "very unfavorable" eyes than the oldest
generation.
» One big dirty club: We are talking about
While "fortresses" of pro-American sentiment remain—specifically in Israel (83% favorability) and South Korea (61%), the 2025 data suggests that the world is transitioning from a US-led consensus to a more fragmented reality where China’s economic influence is increasingly welcomed.
Well, that was in spring of 2025. Waiting for the Pew Research Center's Spring 2026 survey...
Reference:


