Americans rate China more favorably than they did five years ago, but negative views still outnumber positive ones, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted Sept. 14-20.
The average rating was 37 on a scale from zero to 100, up from 28 in 2021. On that scale, zero is the coldest possible view, 50 is neutral and 100 is the warmest. The shift shows an improvement in sentiment, not a reversal of the overall negative balance.
Pew surveyed 5,193 U.S. adults as part of its American Trends Panel, but the China results come from the 1,168 respondents who were asked to rate that country. Each participant rated four countries from a set of 18. The figures describe survey responses, not attitudes measured among every American.
Fewer respondents give China the coldest ratings
The share of adults rating China warmly, from 51 to 100, rose from 11% in 2021 to 19% in the new survey. Another 27% gave China an exactly neutral score of 50, up from 20% five years ago.
Cold ratings, from zero to 49, fell from 68% to 54%. The share giving China a very cold score, from zero to 24, declined from 47% to 34%. Those figures mean a majority still rated China negatively even as the most negative responses became less common.
Pew has also long asked a simpler favorability question that offers four answers, from very favorable to very unfavorable. This analysis uses a 101-point thermometer, which allows more precise ratings and an exact neutral midpoint. The center said both measures show the same broad pattern: views remain more negative than positive but have improved in recent years.
Party and age gaps remain
Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents gave China an average rating of 43, compared with 29 among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. About 26% of Democrats rated China warmly, versus 10% of Republicans. Cold views were reported by 44% of Democrats and 68% of Republicans.
Both partisan groups showed some warming since 2021. The Democratic warm share increased from 15% to 26%, while the Republican warm share rose from 5% to 10%. Among Republicans, the neutral share increased from 15% to 22%, and the share giving China a zero rating fell from 37% to 19%.
Adults younger than 50 gave China an average score of 42, compared with 31 among those 50 and older. Pew said the roughly 10-point age gap has persisted for about a decade, even as ratings in both groups have risen since 2021.
Younger adults were not predominantly positive: 47% of those under 50 rated China coldly, 24% warmly and 27% neutrally. The survey captures opinion during one week in September; it does not establish why respondents' views changed.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to news@fingerlakes1.com.