American views of China improve before Xi-Trump summit, Pew repor

Pew researchers say Americans’ feelings towards China have warmed in recent years, even as overall sentiment remains cold ahead of the Xi-Trump meeting.

Ratings have improved since 2021

Using a “feeling thermometer” scale from zero to 100, Pew found that Americans gave China an average rating of 37.

On that scale, zero is the coldest rating and 100 is the warmest.

The average rating has risen from 28 in 2021 to 37, according to the Pew findings.

Pew researchers Laura Silver and Laura Clancy wrote: “The [Xi-Trump] meeting comes as Americans’ feelings about China have warmed in recent years, even though they remain cold overall.”

More Americans now give China warm or neutral scores

The share of US adults giving China a warm rating, defined as 51 to 100, has increased from 11 per cent in 2021 to 19 per cent today.

The neutral group has also grown, with the share giving China a rating of exactly 50 rising from 20 per cent to 27 per cent.

At the same time, the share giving China a cold rating of zero to 49 has fallen from 68 per cent to 54 per cent.

The shift matters because Pew’s figures show movement across all three categories: warmer ratings have increased, neutral ratings have increased, and cold ratings have declined since 2021.

The report also found that younger Americans and Democrats expressed warmer views of China.

Source: South China Morning Post