China's Image Rebounds in America

Americans’ opinions of China continue to soften, a new survey has found, with roughly twice as many viewing the East Asian power favorably compared with three years ago.

It comes as Washington and Beijing seek to stabilize bilateral ties, which in recent years have been strained over a range of issues, from trade tensions driven by President Donald Trump‘s tariffs to rivalries in tech and the Indo-Pacific.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to host Trump in Beijing in mid-May, aiming to build on reduced tensions following their last face-to-face meeting in October.

A Pew Research poll conducted March 23–29 found 27 percent of respondents hold a positive view of China-up 6 percentage points from last year.

The increase is largely driven by Democrats and Democrat-leaning voters. The share of this group viewing China favorably rose by 8 percentage points to 34 percent-the largest shift since 2009, following the Beijing Olympics.

Among Republicans and Republican-leaning respondents, the share with a favorable view is largely unchanged, though at 18 percent it is roughly double last year's level, pointing to a modest improvement among this group as well.

Younger Americans across the ideological spectrum viewed China more positively, with about one-third of those under 50 expressing favorable views, compared with just 19 percent of those 50 and older.

Among Democrats and Democrat-leaning voters, 10 percent of those under 50 see China as an enemy, compared with 18 percent of those 50 and older.

Among Republicans, the gap is wider, with younger respondents 23 percentage points less likely to view China as an enemy than older Republicans, among whom 55 percent hold that view.

Just weeks before the anticipated Trump-Xi summit, the poll showed a decline in American confidence in Trump's ability to make sound policy decisions on China.

Among Democrats, views were largely unchanged. Among Republicans, 71 percent said they have confidence in Trump's handling of China, down 7 percentage points from last year. Broken down by age, 64 percent of Republicans under 50 expressed confidence, compared with 78 percent of those 50 and older.

Americans also generally lack confidence in Xi to do the right thing in world affairs, though that figure rose to 17 percent, compared to just 9 percent in 2024.

The survey comes on the heels of a Gallup poll earlier this month that found China surpassed the United States in international approval ratings last year, with a median of 31 percent of respondents approving of China's leadership versus 30 percent for the U.S.-the largest gap in China's favor in nearly two decades.

“It should be made clear that China’s advantages are not highlighted simply because of the poor performance of the US,” Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told Chinese state-run newspaper the Global Times. “In fact, China’s international acceptance has been rising steadily even if the US performs well. Some analyses of the changing recognition of China and the US remain trapped in a zero-sum logic of ‘you lose, I win,’ which is inconsistent with objective reality.”

Newsweek's reporters and editors used Martyn, our Al assistant, to help produce this story. Learn more about Martyn.

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This story was originally published April 15, 2026 at 2:35 AM.