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    China’s public getting more negative about the world

    Chinese views about other major nations have become more negative in recent years. In particular, attitudes toward the U.S. have cooled – ratings for President Obama have declined, and fewer Chinese now describe their country’s relationship with the U.S. as one of cooperation.

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    How the Chinese View Other Countries

    As China is projecting its power abroad and preparing for a change of leadership at home, the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project asked the Chinese public what it thought of other countries, especially its neighbors. The Project’s spring survey also asked people in a number of other countries what they thought of China. Some […]

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    Growing Concerns in China about Inequality, Corruption

    While China prepares for a leadership change, the Chinese people believe their country is facing growing challenges, including rising prices, inequality, corruption, and consumer safety. The Chinese public is also increasingly expressing reservations about relations with the U.S.

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    How China became the US election bogeyman

    With about half of Americans saying China’s rise is a major threat to the U.S., fears about China have fed into the U.S. presidential campaign. Overall, Republicans are more concerned than Democrats about China.

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    Wait, You Still Don’t Like Us?

    While the image of the United States has improved throughout many parts of the world during Barack Obama’s presidency, negative views of America remain stubbornly persistent in key Muslim countries. Much of this animosity is due to continuing concerns about U.S. power and widespread opposition to major elements of American foreign policy.

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    U.S. Public, Experts Differ on China Policies

    While nearly two-thirds of Americans describe relations between the U.S. and China as good, most are concerned about China’s growing economic strength. Compared with the general public, U.S. foreign affairs experts are less likely to see China as an economic threat and less concerned about Beijing’s rising power.

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    Middle East Turmoil Closely Followed; Romney’s Comments Viewed Negatively

    Overview About four-in-ten Americans (43%) have followed news about the attacks on U.S. embassies in the Middle East and the killing of an American ambassador very closely, making it by far the most closely followed foreign news story of the year. Those who have followed this story have much more positive opinions about Barack Obama’s […]

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    Deepening Economic Doubts in India

    The economic euphoria in India over the last few years, inspired by the country’s seemingly inevitable march toward double-digit growth, has soured. Although still relatively upbeat compared with many other countries, the Indian public’s confidence in their country’s direction and future economic growth has declined significantly.

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    Have Americans Turned Inward?

    At a time when the U.S. is still at war in Afghanistan, when in the eyes of foreigners U.S. stature as the hegemonic power is in question, and when a euro crisis could derail the American economy’s tenuous recovery, voters are turning inward. Nevertheless, when American national security is seen as threatened by Iran or terrorism, voters remain aggressively internationalist.

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    World to America: We want soft, not hard power

    With less than three months to go in the U.S. presidential election, the candidates’ debate over America’s place in the world can only be expected to escalate. Recent public opinion surveys suggest that people outside the United States question American hard power and increasingly embrace U.S. soft power. Whoever is president in 2013, the success abroad of his foreign policy may depend on achieving the right balance in the exercise of American hard and soft power.

Signature Reports

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Attitudes on an Interconnected World

How close do people feel to others around the world? How much do they want their countries involved in international affairs? How do people’s experiences with travel and feelings of international connectedness relate to their views about the world? A recent 24-nation survey explores these questions.

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What Can Improve Democracy?

Amid growing discontent with the state of democracy globally, we asked over 30,000 people what changes would make their democracy work better.

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