WASHINGTON – China’s foreign policy does not appear to be winning Beijing many fans, according to a new Pew Research Centre report based on surveys across 24 countries.

Views of China’s foreign policy remain negative and, in some cases, have worsened, said the report, which drew on nationally representative surveys of 30,861 adults conducted from Feb 20 to May 22, 2023.

Most people – 76 per cent – also thought that China does not take into account the interests of other countries in its foreign policy. That sense is strongest in Sweden, where 93 per cent said China does not account for their country’s interests, Pew Research found.

Only 28 per cent of adults held favourable opinions of China’s foreign policy, the surveys found.

A median of 57 per cent also said China interferes in the affairs of other nations a great deal or a fair amount. Two thirds or more in Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and the United States believe China “meddles in other countries’ affairs”.

A total of 71 per cent polled said China does not contribute to global peace and stability.

Pew Research Centre is a non-partisan “fact tank” and does not take policy positions.

Pew found that middle-income countries – except for India – viewed China somewhat less negatively than high-income ones.

The surveys covered eight middle-income countries – Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, India and Indonesia. Across these, at least half the respondents said Chinese investment has benefited their country’s economy.

“People in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa are particularly enthusiastic about investment from China,” the report said. Fifty-one per cent in Kenya, 45 per cent in Nigeria and 35 per cent in South Africa said Chinese investments greatly benefited their economies.

“Fewer in these middle-income countries also criticise China’s global behaviour, and many more see China’s ‘soft power’ appeal,” the report said.

“Indeed, the public in these middle-income countries offer relatively favourable ratings for China’s entertainment products, its universities and its standard of living – while few in most high-income countries agree.”

China has been courting Latin America and Africa.

Africa in particular, between 2003 and 2021, received average Chinese foreign direct investments of US$33.8 billion (S$44.8 billion) a year.

Sino-African trade tops US$200 billion a year. Over 10,000 Chinese firms currently operate across Africa, which has passed Asia as the largest market for China’s overseas construction projects. The value of Chinese businesses on the continent since 2005 amounts to over US$2 trillion, with US$300 billion in current investments, said a US House Foreign Affairs Committee report.

China’s foreign policy also received a positive rating from the majority in Kenya and Nigeria, where Chinese President Xi Jinping received relatively high ratings, with the majorities saying they have at least some confidence in his actions on the world stage. 

Even as opinions on China’s foreign policy in Argentina, Brazil, India, Mexico and South Africa are negative, Pew said on balance, “attitudes towards China are rosier in middle-income than high-income countries”.  

India was the only middle-income country in which a majority – 67 per cent – had unfavourable views of China, a significant increase from 46 per cent in 2019.

This comes as no surprise. Indian and Chinese troops have clashed on the Himalayan border since 2020 – including in December 2022 – greatly souring public opinion of China in the South Asian nation.

In the Asia-Pacific, just 25 per cent in Indonesia view China unfavourably. High-income nations Australia and Japan held the highest negative ratings at 87 per cent each – surpassing even the US’ 83 per cent – holding level or almost level with past surveys.

Negative views spiked the most in Poland – a 12-point increase to 67 per cent – owing to strained bilateral relations, perhaps related to China’s handling of the war in Ukraine, Pew said.

Meanwhile, half of Americans named China in an open-ended question asking them to name any country as the greatest threat to the US – “almost three times more than the share who name Russia (17 per cent)”, the report noted.

Across all 24 countries, a median of 69 per cent described China’s technological achievements as the best or above average relative to other wealthy nations.

China’s technological achievements, often considered part of its soft power, were rated the best in the world by four in 10 in middle-income countries, many of which are increasingly reliant on Chinese companies like Huawei for components of their 4G and 5G systems, Pew noted.