Negative views about China were pervasive even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether regional neighbors like South Korea were sour over the economic retribution Beijing has inflicted on them, or countries like Australia were bitter over trade disputes and election interference, many nations had gripes with the communist power that go back many years. The pandemic appears to have been the final straw for many, however.
According to an analysis from Pew Research, unfavorable views of China are at a historic high of 80 percent.
Pew admits that in its study of more than 60 countries on the topic, COVID-19 has made it difficult to survey emerging economies since 2019, so this year’s report highlights recent shifts in advanced economies.
"Opinion of China in emerging economies may differ somewhat and we hope to be able to resume our work measuring views of China in a broader group of countries next year," the report states, adding that China was also excluded due to the inability to conduct polling there "since the introduction of the Foreign NGO Law in 2017."
From what we can see, however, the results are (mostly) brutal.
Nobody likes your shitty country, @MFA_China https://t.co/Pl6GVbYaCp
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) September 29, 2022
Respondents in the U.S. and Australia were also asked an open-ended question about what comes to mind when they think about China.
“Communist pigs,” one Australian woman told Pew. “Not referring to ordinary people, they are the same as you and I. But their government is nasty including their president Xi Jingping.”
A man from the U.S., meanwhile, described China as an “autocratic dictatorship led by a tyrant” and the Chinese Communist Party as “an amoral kleptocracy interested in its own survival and not at all concerned with the welfare of its citizens.”
While Pew warned readers such comments may be offensive...most would agree they hit the nail on the head.
