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Trump will head to Beijing amid warming trend in sentiment about China at home

Pew research finds most Americans have negative views but positive opinions have nearly doubled since 2023

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US President Donald Trump’s meeting with China’s Xi Jinping in Beijing is planned for May. Photo: AFP
Lucy Quagginin New York
American views on China have softened ahead of a high-stakes summit between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in May, with positive sentiment nearly doubling since 2023, a survey by the Pew Research Centre has found.

While a significant majority of Americans still regard China as a competitor to the US rather than a partner, fewer call the world’s second largest economy an adversary than in 2025, according to the survey, which was released on Tuesday.

“Today, 27 per cent of Americans have a positive opinion of China. That has risen 6 percentage points since last year and nearly doubled since 2023,” Pew reported.

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Despite the warming trend, most Americans still view China unfavourably, a sentiment that has held for the better part of a decade.

Pew’s analysis used data from two 2026 surveys, conducted in January and March, of 12,000 adults representing a broad cross-section of the US population.

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“China may seem less threatening to people these days. In the US, the share of people who describe China as an enemy has fallen since last year – particularly among Democrats,” said Laura Silver, associate director at Pew.
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