A survey across 14 countries showed that negative perceptions of China have amid coronavirus and trade tensions, among others, Pew Research Center found according to the Associated Press.
The poll showed a majority of people had an unfavorable view of China, and results from some countries reflected recent challenges facing relations with China. In Australia, which showed the sharpest increase, 81% reported an unfavorable view of China, a 24% rise from 2019, according to Pew Research Center.
NEW: Unfavorable views of China have risen in recent years across many advanced economies. Our new survey shows these unfavorable views have continued to increase, and in some countries they have reached new highs. (THREAD: 1/) https://t.co/O991so7yjF
— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) October 6, 2020
Following the coronavirus outbreak, Australia called for an international investigation into the Chinese Communist Party’s handling of the early coronavirus outbreak, which the Chinese government rejected and responded by suspending imports of Australian beef and putting high tariffs on barley.
The survey was conducted from June 10 to Aug. 3 among 14,276 adults across the 14 countries via telephone. The 14 countries surveyed were the U.S., Canada, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the U.K., Australia, Japan and South Korea. The margin of error for the survey ranged from 3.1 percentage points in South Korea to 4.2 percentage points in Belgium.
Unfavorable views toward China also grew 19% in Britain to 74%; 15% in Germany to 71%; and 13% in the U.S. to 73%. In nine of the surveyed countries — Spain, Germany, Canada, the Netherlands, the U.S., the U.K., South Korea, Sweden and Australia — negative perception of China reached the highest level in the 12 or more years that Pew Research Center has conducted the survey in the countries.
A majority of people held a negative view of how China handled the coronavirus, with a median of 61% across the 14 countries, but even more respondents said the U.S. handled the pandemic poorly, at 84%. A median of 78% respondents said they don’t trust Chinese President Xi Jinping, while 83% said they don’t trust President Donald Trump.
There has been increasing friction between the U.S. and China on multiple fronts including China’s Hong Kong security law, reports that the Chinese government is overseeing concentration camps in Xinjiang, and the coronavirus outbreak that emerged in Wuhan. (RELATED: ‘A Regime That Fears Religion’: New Report Details China’s Crackdown On Religion)