According to a study published on Wednesday (June 29), people in developed countries are increasingly hostile to China, with criticism being strongest in the United States, Germany and South Korea.
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The survey, conducted in 19 countries by the Pew Research Center, showed a deterioration in China’s image in recent years, culminating in concerns about its increasing military and economic power, its human rights practices and questions about the origin of China’s Covid19 pandemic.
Unpopularity reaches record highs
According to this study, a record proportion of Americans (82%), South Koreans (80%), Germans (74%) and Canadians (74%) have a negative opinion of China. Chinese unpopularity also reached near-record levels in Japan (87%), Australia (86%) and Sweden (83%). The French also have a negative view of Beijing at 68%, down from the record 72% set in 2008.
China’s reputation in South Korea suffered particularly badly after Beijing’s economic crackdown on Seoul in 2017 after installing a missile defense system designed to ward off a possible attack by North Korea, not China. Beijing has also imposed economic sanctions on Australia, following actions from Canberra, where concerns about China have increased in recent months after Chinese spy ships were spotted near Australian waters.
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China’s image has clouded even among nations with which it has better ties, such as Greece, where 50% of respondents had an outrageously negative opinion. In Israel, where positive and negative opinions were almost equal, most respondents would like to see priority given to economic relations, even without raising the issue of human rights. The study looked at the responses of 24,525 adults surveyed between February 14 and June 3.