TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China’s economic clout is felt around the world, but whether it is viewed positively or negatively depends largely on the country’s economic development, according to a survey of 35 countries.
People living in high-income countries such as the United States, Canada and Australia expressed generally unfavorable views on China as a whole, and an average of 70% of others in 18 countries reported negative sentiments, according to a ballot released this week through the Pew Research Center.
Those perceptions have been reversed in middle-income countries such as Thailand, Kenya and Bangladesh, where an average of 56 percent of respondents in 17 countries reported favorable views, according to Pew figures released Tuesday.
Within the 35 countries surveyed, individual reviews vary widely, with the lowest approval score reported in Sweden at 11 percent, followed by Japan (12 percent), Australia (14 percent) and the United States (16 percent). hundred).
The maximum prospects were reported through Thailand (80 percent), followed by Nigeria (75 percent), Kenya (73 percent), Tunisia (68 percent) and Singapore (67 percent).
A similar split was seen regarding perceptions of whether China had a positive or negative influence on the economy in particular.
An average of 57% of others in high-income countries have a negative understanding of China’s economic influence, compared with an average of 47% of others in middle-income countries who understand its influence positively.
In the United States, 76% of respondents expressed negative perspectives on China’s economic influence, followed by Germany (69%), France (68%), and Canada (68%), with similarly negative outlooks in Europe, Japan, Korea South and South Korea. Korea. India.
Singapore and Malaysia view China’s economic influence in the best light, with 67% of respondents saying they are in favor, followed by Nigeria (64%) and Thailand (63%).
Pew attributed some of those prospects to the effects of China’s grand Belt and Road Initiative, which has invested more than $3 trillion in other countries over the past decade.
Opinions of Chinese President Xi Jinping were negative, with an average of 24% of respondents expressing confidence in the leader and 62% reporting little or no confidence.
The most consistently unfavorable outlook was for Japan (87 percent), Australia (85 percent) and Sweden (82 percent).
Singapore and Thailand have the most favorable prospects for Xi, with 63% of respondents having medium or high confidence in the Chinese leader, followed by Malaysia (55%) and Bangladesh (51%).
Nine middle-income countries surveyed separately about the effect of Chinese companies on their economies reported sometimes positive views.
An average of 72% of respondents believe that Chinese corporations are smart for their country’s economy, with the highest positive reviews reported in Thailand (81%), Kenya (80%) and Bangladesh (79%). The positive outlook on the environmental impact of Chinese corporations and how they treat local workers.
India has the most negative opinions: only 49% of respondents consider that Chinese companies have a positive effect on their economy, followed by Ghana (55%) and South Africa (57%). ).
In the Asia-Pacific region, nine out of ten countries surveyed expressed a high level of fear over China’s territorial disputes in the region.
The point of greatest fear was expressed in the Philippines, which clashes with Beijing over its claims in the South China Sea, where 91% of respondents said they felt at least somewhat afraid.
It was followed by this Southeast Asian country, South Korea (87%) and Japan (86%), which have similar disputes in the East China Sea, Australia (82%) and India (69%).