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US-China relations
ChinaDiplomacy

Chinese public warms to US while strongly backing Beijing’s trade stance: survey

‘Substantial’ uptick in favourability towards America compared with previous year, but still lower than scores for Britain, the EU and Asean

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Despite warming sentiment towards the US, nearly 90 per cent of those polled back Beijing taking trade countermeasures against Washington. Photo: AFP
Orange Wang
The Chinese public’s favourability towards the United States saw a “notable” rebound in 2025 to reach a three-year high, according to a new study by Tsinghua University’s Centre for International Security and Strategy (CISS).
The annual Chinese Outlook on International Security survey, released on Wednesday, also found that the share of respondents holding a positive view of Sino-US relations increased by a “substantial” margin over the last year.

Despite this warming sentiment, domestic support for assertive trade policy remained high, with nearly 90 per cent of those polled voicing support for Beijing taking trade countermeasures against Washington.

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When asked to rate their opinion of the US on a scale of one to five, the 2,000 respondents gave an average score of 2.38. This represents a sharp increase from the 1.85 recorded in 2024 and marks the highest favourability rating since the report was launched in 2023.

However, favourability towards the US still ranked lower than that for other countries and blocs, including Britain, the European Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and South Korea. But the US remained more favourably viewed than India.

Russia again topped the favourability ratings, consistent with the previous two years, though its score dipped from 3.66 last year to 3.49.

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