International

China now tops US in global approval ratings: Gallup

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by Ryan Mancini - 04/04/26 1:52 PM ET

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by Ryan Mancini - 04/04/26 1:52 PM ET

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Global approval of China surpassed the U.S. in 2025, the widest favorability gap between the two countries in almost 20 years, according to a new Gallup poll released Friday.

Gallup found that China’s global approval rating last year reached a median of 36 percent in support of the country’s leadership. U.S. leadership saw its median approval rating drop to 31 percent, a fall of 8 percentage points since 2024. China’s approval rose from 32 percent in 2024.

Disapproval of China’s leadership remained flat at 37 percent, Gallup found. U.S. leadership’s disapproval reached a record-high of 48 percent.

Last year was the second year on record where both countries registered negative net global approval ratings. The median net approval for China dipped to -1, with the U.S. dropping down to a median net approval of -15, the lowest on record.

China saw the strongest relative alignment from countries like Russia, Pakistan, Tunisia and Singapore. These countries’ preferences “reflect deep negativity toward the U.S. more than strong enthusiasm for China,” according to Gallup.

Countries that include Israel, Poland, Kosovo, the Philippines and Albania favor the U.S. Their net approval resembles their net disapproval of China.

Gallup found that the percentage of respondents who expressed no opinion reached some of its lowest levels in nearly 20 years. Sixteen percent of respondents had no opinion of China, slightly more than the 13 percent who said they have no opinion of the U.S.

“This suggests that global views of both powers are becoming more defined, with more people forming clear opinions in both positive and negative directions,” Gallup stated.

Most countries, however, do not have a strong preference for either China or the U.S. China saw strong alignment from 8 percent of countries compared to 5 percent strongly aligned with the U.S., the poll shows. Another 40 percent are weakly aligned to the two countries, with 32 percent to China and 8 percent to the U.S.

These results come after President Trump delayed his visit to China amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. He said last month that although he wants to visit China, “because of the war, I want to be here.” The president previously said he would delay the trip after he called on other countries to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran shut down following the start of the conflict.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at the time that Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping was not “in jeopardy.”

China and Iran share strategic and economic ties.

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