Commentary by Sam-Kee Cheng (Zheng Chenqi 鄭琛奇)*
According to the Spring 2026 Global Attitudes Survey on international public opinion regarding the US and China, carried out by the US-based think tank Pew Research Center, 25 out of the 36 countries surveyed have a more favourable view of China compared to the US. Five countries have roughly equally favourable views of China and the US, and six view the US more favourably. The US is seen as a greater interferer than China in almost all 17 middle-income countries surveyed, while 69% of respondents in those countries regard China as a reliable partner, compared to 49% who see the US in this light.
This result is an encouraging sign for China and demonstrates the impact of its work to promote its image overseas. The rising popularity of Chinese culture among younger generations, reflected in the ‘Chinamaxxing’ phenomenon earlier this year, shows that perceptions of China are indeed changing. It has come a long way since the heyday of racist characterisations through fictional figures like Fu Manchu. However, considering the unilateral, aggressive, and rules-breaking actions taken under the Trump administration and the tariff wars waged by the US against most countries – not to mention the notorious scandal surrounding the Epstein files implicating US elites and their associates – the loss of confidence in the US should come as no surprise. What is more surprising is why it still garners a substantial %age of favourable views in countries that are not its formal allies, such as Ghana (68%) and India (45%).
Amidst the overall positive results for China, several countries with very close economic ties to Beijing – and whose governments are considered long-term friends of China, such as Hungary and Brazil –returned puzzling results. Only 22% of Brazilian respondents and 36% of Hungarian respondents expressed confidence in Xi Jinping to do the right thing regarding world affairs, compared to 30% and 44% who expressed confidence in Donald Trump. For China’s two industrialised neighbours, South Korea and Japan, the clear gap between those holding favourable opinions of China and of the US is concerning: only 28% of South Korean respondents view China positively, compared to 45% for the US, while a mere 11% of Japanese respondents view China favourably, compared to 50% for the US.
China’s policy proposal, A Global Community of Shared Future: China’s Proposals and Actions (2023), serves as an important call and a serious blueprint for an alternative future. It recognises that our shared problems affect us as a collective whole, requiring a new approach and revised governance to build a better, sustainable world. The glaring deficits in peace, development, security, and governance are evident across all sectors; one of the most direct impacts is the rising death toll in armed conflicts since 2020. According to data compiled by Our World in Data—based on databases from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (2026) and geoBoundaries (2023) – over 1.1 million deaths in armed conflicts were recorded from 2021 to 2025, more than double the figure from a decade earlier (2011–2015). A number of countries are currently at war. For many people, a continuous deterioration in living standards and the deprivation of basic needs remain a daily reality.
Humankind is undoubtedly at a crossroads, as “various problems old and new and complex issues are converging with and compounding each other, posing unprecedented challenges for human society”, as the proposal succinctly concludes. However, much work remains to be done to secure genuine support and active engagement from the global public for China’s proposed actions. Close economic ties and Chinese investment do not automatically generate trust and confidence. While operating within the framework of market economics, China must remain mindful of the fallacies of trickle-down economics and act more proactively to ensure its investments directly benefit the majority of people in recipient economies.
The contrast between a rising, prosperous China and a deteriorating, punitive daily reality for many could easily be manipulated to stoke resentment towards Chinese development. It is crucial for China to explain and demonstrate how it has contributed –and will continue to contribute – to improving the livelihoods and developmental rights of the global majority, many of whom have suffered under decades of neoliberal austerity.
The hierarchical structure underpinning the free-market model was not designed or shaped by China. Beijing’s breakthroughs in critical industries historically monopolised by a few advanced nations, alongside the cheapening of capital goods, have created unprecedented opportunities for late-industrialising countries. Yet, uneven development and socio-economic problems like social polarisation and mass unemployment under global capitalism directly affect people’s lives and their perceptions of China, which has emerged as one of the few winners in the current system. Consequently, learning “How to Tell China’s Story Well” is no longer merely a nice-to-have diplomatic initiative; it has become essential for uniting working people worldwide behind a community of a shared future – a goal China cannot achieve alone.
As Dr Linda Matar, Associate Professor at the School of International Studies at Sun Yat-sen University, emphasised in the introduction to a recent special issue of Middle East Critique:
“To tell the story well is not only to improve any process governing development in China, it is also to admit that in practice there are always shortcomings that must be dealt with… Mao posited that revolutionary change that submits to the laws of historical progress cannot lose its value after being criticised; it is hardened by it.”¹
This is a timeless reminder whose value is as vital now as ever. To unite the majority of the world, China must adhere to and effectively communicate the goal of building a community of a shared future. Having successfully developed its productive forces, China is now pioneering a move towards a people-centred development model. Constant and intensifying pressure from the US and its allies requires China to maintain its defensive capabilities and remain highly competitive in the global economy. However, the ultimate purpose of developing productive forces must always be to serve the construction of socialism. By staying true to the core principle of people-centred development in both domestic and overseas investment planning and execution, China will not only enhance its international standing, but also mobilise global support and contributions towards building a shared future.
* Sam-Kee Cheng is Research Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Macau and an Associate Researcher at the University of Macau Advanced Research Institute in Hengqin. The author would like to thank Prof. Michael Dunford for reading and editing earlier drafts of this article.
¹ Linda Matar, ‘Tell China’s Story Well: China and the Middle East’, Middle East Critique, 35.2 (2026), pp. 247–54 (p. 249), doi:10.1080/19436149.2025.2540693.
