Bloomberg
Back in 2021, President Xi Jinping called on his underlings to create a “trustworthy, lovable and respectable” image for China.
This week, Xi received evidence that the mission is being accomplished, though he should give President Donald Trump an assist.
A survey by the Pew Research Center found that more people around the world view China more positively than the US for the first time in almost 20 years.
Even the US’s closest neighbors, Canada and Mexico, saw China in a better light. Younger people especially had a better vibe about the country.
Much of this is down to a collapse in US favorability as Trump alienates traditional American allies and others with his trade tariffs, demands to control Greenland and war launched on Iran.
It’s still a fillip for Xi, the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong, who died in 1976.
He and his diplomats portray China as a stabilizing force in a world rocked by upheaval, pointing to rapid economic growth and equally swift technological advances.
China is now the global leader in electric vehicles and solar-power tech, while holding its own against the US in artificial intelligence.
They’ll be especially pleased that the Pew results seem to gloss over China’s support for Russia in Ukraine and tensions over its stampede of exports to the rest of the world — issues that irk Europe to the extent that it’s considering retaliation, even if the US is more reticent on trade reprisals.
The survey results also give Chinese diplomats something to talk about during an uneven economic recovery.
China reported quarterly GDP data this week that was the weakest in more than three years. While exports are humming, there’s reason to worry about everything else, especially weak consumer sentiment, a yearslong property slump and a dour job market.
Given those worries, Xi will gladly take the soft power win over Trump. — Philip Glamann