Global Leadership Competition Intensifies Amid US-China Conflict

Gallup Global Leadership Survey Results
Sharp Decline in US Global Leadership Approval Since Trump's Inauguration
China's Rise Since Xi Jinping's Inauguration... Competing Closely with the US

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Since Donald Trump assumed office as the President of the United States in 2017, the approval rating for America's global leadership has hovered around the low 30% range for three consecutive years, marking an all-time low. In particular, the approval rating for China's leadership, which President Trump has been attacking daily, stood at 32%, matching the level of the United States and reaffirming that China is standing up to the U.S.

Changes in Support for U.S. Global Leadership (Source: Gallup)

According to a survey conducted by Gallup on the 27th (local time), which polled 1,000 people each from 135 countries worldwide over one year from March last year to February this year, only 33% responded that they support the United States' global leadership.

This year's survey results showed a slight increase compared to 30% in 2017, the first year of President Trump's term, and 31% in 2018, but still indicate a lack of trust from the international community. The approval rating in 2016, the last year of former President Barack Obama's administration, was 48%.

In this survey, Germany ranked first for the third consecutive year with an approval rating of 44%, while China and Russia competed for second place with 32% and 30%, respectively. Although China's rating dropped by 1 percentage point compared to a year ago, it remains higher than the 29% recorded when President Xi Jinping took office. China is thus competing with the United States in leadership at a comparable level.

Dissatisfaction with President Trump was notably high in Europe and Asia. Europe's approval rating was the lowest at 24%, reflecting ongoing conflicts over trade and security since his inauguration. In Asia, the approval rating was 32%, but South Korea recorded a somewhat higher level at 41%, compared to the regional average. South Korea's approval rating also fell significantly short of the 53% recorded in 2016, the last year of former President Obama's administration. The percentage of respondents who did not support was 47%. South Korea's approval ratings have hovered around 40% throughout President Trump's term, with 39% in 2017 and 44% in 2018.

Mohamed Yunis, Gallup's editor-in-chief, said, "The image of U.S. leadership has remained relatively low," adding, "For three years, the United States has received historically low evaluations even from some of its closest allies."

He noted that this survey does not reflect the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which the U.S. response has been criticized, and predicted that the image of U.S. leadership could be severely affected by the failure to control infection rates. He warned that approval ratings for the U.S. and China could change in next year's survey.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.