Nuanced and sceptical: how do Chinese view US rivalry and Russian, North Korean allies?

Name: China showcases new military hardware in massive Victory Day parade
Uploaded: 2025-09-04T04:00:09.000Z
Duration: 5 min 50 s
Description: China showcases new military hardware in massive Victory Day parade

For nearly half of respondents, China is interested in shared leadership role, implying peaceful coexistence, survey authors said

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President Xi Jinping (centre) with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Tiananmen Square on Wednesday for China’s Victory Day military parade. Photo: EPA

Mark Magnierin New York

Published: 12:00pm, 4 Sep 2025Updated: 3:21pm, 4 Sep 2025

Americans tend to believe that China wants to create a new world order to knock the United States off its perch, but the results of a survey released this week suggest Chinese people are far more nuanced and flexible in this view, providing avenues to reduce US-China tension, experts said on Wednesday.

The survey of ordinary Chinese, by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and The Carter Centre, depicts a public that is optimistic about their nation’s future, economy, military and culture.

They also regard their country as the greatest in the world – a view on ample display during this week’s military parade marking the 80th anniversary of China’s victory against the Japanese and the end of World War II.

“There was a lot more subtlety in the data with a plurality, 48 per cent, saying that China’s interested in a shared leadership role,” according to Paul Heer, a senior fellow with the Chicago Council and former intelligence officer.

“Shared leadership implies an acceptance of peaceful coexistence with the United States and the West. I think the Chinese are curious. They’re still sceptical that we’re still interested in them,” he said.

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China showcases new military hardware in massive Victory Day parade

But authors of the survey also cautioned that some of their findings were likely to have been influenced by self-censorship and concern that the conversation was being monitored.

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