A recent survey of 17 nations in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific asking if China respects individual liberties found overwhelmingly negative views.
According to a report by the Pew Research Center, which polled the general public in 17 nations with advanced economies, in 15 of the 17 countries surveyed, 80% or more say the Chinese government does not respect the personal freedoms of its people. This percentage is at or near historic highs in nearly every place surveyed, rising significantly in Italy, South Korea, Greece, Australia, Canada and the U.K since 2018, the report said.
In the United States, 90% say the Chinese government does not respect individual liberties. There is bipartisan consensus in the U.S. on this question, with 93% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents and 87% of Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents holding this opinion.
"Coupled with this, unfavorable views of China are also at or near historic highs," the report said.
Large majorities in most of the countries surveyed expressed broadly negative views of China, including approximately 75% or more of survey respondents in Japan, Sweden, Australia, South Korea and the United States. However, these views largely have remained the same since 2020, the report said.
"Much of the negative increase in countries such as Australia, Sweden, the U.K. and Canada came last year in the wake of various bilateral tensions as well as a widespread sense that China handled the COVID-19 pandemic poorly," the report said. "To the degree that views have shifted at all, unfavorable views have decreased somewhat in the U.K. (down 11 percentage points)."
As China looks to rebound in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it still will be met with distrust among many nations, according to Pew. Among the countries included in the survey, Pew reported, there is a preference for stronger economic ties with the U.S. over China.
“The importance placed on ties with the U.S. has also grown substantially in recent years,” according to Pew’s analysis. “Only in Singapore and New Zealand do about as many or more say relations with China are as important for their country as with the U.S.”
However, it is not all bad news for the country.
“Although negative views of China remain widespread, in many advanced economies, assessments of China’s handling of COVID-19 have improved precipitously,” Pew said in its report. “Today, a median of 49 percent say China has done a good job dealing with the global pandemic, compared with a median of 43 percent who say it has done poorly.”
In each of 12 countries which were surveyed in both summer 2020 and 2021, the percentage approving China’s pandemic response has increased, and, in places like Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands, it has gone up by at least 15%, the report said.
The Pew Research Center, a U.S.-based, nonpartisan think tank, presents information without taking a policy position.