Chinese tourists take a photo with a China Aid plaque in Vientiane, Laos, on April 8, 2024. A high-speed railway between China and Laos is a key project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. (Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)
People in middle-income countries are more likely than those in high-income countries to view China’s economic influence positively
BY LAURA SILVER,CHRISTINE HUANG,LAURA CLANCY AND ANDREW PROZOROVSKY
How we did this
People around the world feel China’s economic influence where they live, according to a new Pew Research Center survey of 35 countries.
Large majorities in nearly all the nations we polled – spanning six continents and ranging in income level – say China has a great deal or a fair amount of influence on their country’s economic conditions.
And China’s economic influence is now felt more widely than it was when we last asked this question in 2019. In 10 of the 13 countries where trend data is available, a larger share say China has a great deal of impact on their country’s economy than said so five years ago.
But whether people see this influence as positive or negative varies widely. In most of the middle-income countries included in the survey, people tend to view China’s economic influence as a good thing. But in the high-income countries, people tend to see it as a bad thing.
- In the 17 middle-income countries surveyed, a median of 47% of adults say China has a positive influence on their country’s economy, while 29% say it has a negative impact.
- In the 18 high-income countries surveyed, a median of 57% of adults say China’s economic influence is negative, while 28% say it’s positive.
Economic categorization
Americans are the most likely to have negative views of China’s economic impact. About three-quarters say China’s influence on the U.S. economy is negative.
Where views on China’s economic influence have changed, they have generally become more negative. In Argentina, Brazil, Israel, Japan, South Korea and Tunisia, more say China has a negative economic influence on their country than said so in 2019.
Overall favorability of China follows a similar pattern to views of its economic influence:
- Across the high-income countries surveyed, a median of 70% view China unfavorably.
- Across the middle-income countries surveyed, a median of 56% view China favorably These are among the key findings of a new survey of 44,166 people in 35 countries conducted from Jan. 5 to May 21, 2024.
The report also includes some questions only asked in the Asia-Pacific region or in specific middle-income countries.
Views of Chinese firms are mixed
China launched its Belt and Road Initiative in 2013. Today, more than 10 years into the initiative, the country’s global outward foreign direct investment is close to $3 trillion. And according to a Bloomberg analysis of data from China’s Ministry of Commerce, its investments overseas are at their highest point in the last eight years.
At the same time, controversies have arisen about the environmental impact of Chinese firms operating abroad, how their workers are treated, and even whether Chinese investments benefit local economies or act as harmful competition.
Still, people in a number of middle-income nations have a positive impression of Chinese companies operating there. Across the nine nations where we asked about this, a 72% median say Chinese companies are good for their country’s economy. Views are most positive in Thailand (81%), Kenya (80%) and Bangladesh (79%), though a majority or plurality hold this view in each of the nine surveyed countries.
When it comes to whether Chinese companies work to protect the environment in these countries, opinion is a bit cooler. A median of 63% say Chinese companies do work to protect the environment. But in Ghana and South Africa, large shares say they do not.
Opinion is even more mixed on whether Chinese companies in each country treat local workers fairly. In Ghana, Nigeria, the Philippines and South Africa, around four-in-ten or more do not think Chinese companies operating in their country treat local workers fairly.
China’s territorial disputes concern many in Asia-Pacific countries
China is party to multiple territorial disputes in the Asia-Pacific region, whether related to the South China Sea, the East China Sea or even specific borders such as those between China and India. Of the 10 Asia-Pacific countries we surveyed, majorities or pluralities in all but Thailand are at least somewhat concerned about these territorial disputes.
In the Philippines, for example, where border tensions with China largely center on the Second Thomas Shoal of the Spratly Islands, 91% say they are concerned about territorial disputes between China and its neighbors, including 65% who are very concerned. (Since fielding, the conflict has flared up over a collision in the area between Chinese and Philippine ships.)
Around three-quarters or more in Australia, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea also express concern.
In the Asia-Pacific, views differ on whether China contributes to global peace and stability
Across the Asia-Pacific region, we also asked people whether China contributes to peace and stability around the world. Opinion is divided: In Malaysia and Thailand, around two-thirds or more see it playing this role. About three-in-ten or fewer say the same in Australia, India, Japan and South Korea.
When we asked this question in 24 countries in 2023, Australians, Japanese and South Koreans were some of the least likely to say China contributes to global peace and stability. They remain some of the most critical, but to a lesser extent than last year. Still, these three publics are generally less likely to say China plays this stabilizing role than to say the same about other regional powers we asked about (Australia, India and Japan).