The 'Global Top 3 Relationships' Chosen by Chinese: Russia, Europe, and Southeast Asia

US Ranks 4th... Biden Administration Unpopular
Huanqiu Shibao: "Sino-US Relations Worsen Due to US Reckless Containment"

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Kim Hyunjung] A local public opinion survey revealed that more than half of Chinese people consider Russia as the most important diplomatic partner. The importance of the United States, which has conflicts in politics, diplomacy, and trade, was surpassed by Europe and Southeast Asia.

According to the Chinese state-run Global Times on the 25th, Chinese people identified Russia (58.4%) as the country with the most important relationship with China. Europe (45.9%) and Southeast Asia (39.7%) followed, while the United States, which ranked first in the same survey in 2020, was only fourth (36.8%). This was based on the 'Chinese People's Worldview' survey conducted by Global Times from the 8th to the 15th of this month, targeting 2,282 Chinese aged 18 to 69 in 16 major cities nationwide.

More than half of the respondents expressed antipathy toward the U.S. political sphere. They answered that they 'dislike' the Biden administration (59.8%), the Republican Party (52.6%), and the Democratic Party (51.0%). The proportion of those who 'dislike' or 'less support' the American concepts of 'democracy, freedom, and human rights' reached 70.6%.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Experts attributed these results to the reckless containment, competition, and confrontation strategies of the United States, which led more Chinese people to judge that the China-U.S. relationship is unlikely to revert to the past. In particular, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan was seen as influencing this negative judgment.

Xin Chang, Deputy Director of the U.S. Studies Center at Fudan University, said, "Speaker Pelosi's provocative visit was a major concern for all of China, dealt a significant blow to China-U.S. relations, and left a negative impression." He added, "With ongoing issues such as racism, hatred against Asian Americans, and harassment of Chinese businesspeople and scientists like Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chinese people are even reluctant to visit the United States."

On the other hand, Global Times noted that more than 50% of respondents showed a favorable attitude toward American sports leagues like the NBA, as well as movies and TV series, interpreting this as a 'rational perspective' of Chinese people. Deputy Director Xin explained, "Because they understand that the pollution of China-U.S. relations is the fault of American politicians and some media, ordinary Chinese people maintain a high preference for American soft power elements with a rational and objective viewpoint," adding, "Opposing everything about the United States is neither wise nor rational."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The reason for choosing Russia as the most important diplomatic country was also found in the 'fault of the United States.' Wang Yiwei, Director of the Institute of International Studies at Renmin University of China, told the media, "Chinese people are gradually realizing that the Ukraine crisis is close to a trap set by the United States and NATO," and explained, "They do not want to take sides in this complex issue that cannot be simply blamed on Russia or Ukraine." He also suggested that the uncomfortable situation with the United States surrounding the Taiwan Strait had an influence, saying, "From the early stages of the crisis, the United States and the West described Taiwan as the 'second Ukraine.'"

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