countries for the rest of the 21st century. This is how people in 40 countries around

the world currently view the two nations across a variety of global issues, according to a

study by the Pew Research Center.

Broadly, the U.S. is seen more positively in Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia;

while China is viewed significantly more favorably in the Middle East.

The United States’ “Pivot to Asia” is welcomed by most of the countries in the region,

although the Malaysians and Pakistanis think it’s a bad thing because it could lead to

conflict with China. 54% of Chinese think the U.S. is trying to prevent it from becoming

as powerful.

Here are the favorability ratings for America among the other countries in the study. As

you can see, the U.S. is most popular in the Philippines, Ghana, it’s close allies South

Korea and Israel, Kenya and the rest of Africa, along with Italy. The Europeans are strongly

supportive, but not overwhelmingly so. While Russia has a very negative view of the United States,

fueled by the non-stop anti-U.S. propaganda coming from Putin’s Kremlin.

Zooming in, you see that the Russians turned sharply against America around the time Putin

faced strong opposition at home, which is when he began building up America as an external

threat.

Globally, it’s fascinating how much more positively younger generations view the U.S.

now that they are all on the Internet, a communication medium which has so far been dominated by

the West.

This could be behind the strong confidence most in the world have in the decision-making

capabilities of one of the most Internet-savvy leaders in history, U.S. President Barack

Obama.

Now, these are the global favorability ratings of China. The Pakistanis may be China’s

closest ally, sharing not only a productive relationship, but also a common cross border

rival, in India. Africans are also overwhelmingly supportive thanks to the money -- and migrant

workers -- the Chinese are pouring into the continent as its largest trading partner.

The Russian’s love China partially because they too share a common rival: America, the

current global superpower. The West’s views are all fairly consistent in their skeptical

feelings toward the Chinese, although France and the UK have a more favorable view.

Favorability views of China have changed in the past year thanks to actions like Chinese

President Xi Jinping’s visit to India.

Economically, the world increasingly thinks the U.S. is still the leader, and this data

was gathered before China’s economic troubles this summer...

But the world is also convinced that China has, or is on its way to, replacing the United

States as the superpower. Of the 40 nations in this survey only Brazil, Uganda, close

U.S. allies the Philippines and Japan, Vietnam, and the U.S. itself think China will never

replace the U.S., although it’s remarkable how pessimistic even the Americans are.

Generally, China is viewed very negatively on its respect for the personal freedoms of

its people, although countries that also don’t have the greatest human rights records have

a more favorable view of China on this issue because they don’t really understand what

it’s like to be truly free of government oppression either, like the Russians, Africans,

Middle Easterners, and Venezuelans in this survey.

China’s global rating on this issue has actually taken a hit over the past year as

pro-democracy protests that erupted in Hong Kong were forcefully put down. The Communist

Party also doubled down on its Orwellian Internet censorship campaign, which we detailed in

a previous video you can watch here and through the link below.

Next is the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The largest trade deal in world history, that’s

currently being spearheaded by the United States, is strongly supported by citizens

in all countries involved. Obama’s main objective here is to strengthen America’s

economic ties with China’s neighbors, as a countermeasure to the power of the Chinese

economy.

This chart shows how young people are more likely to embrace globalization, especially

Americans and Mexicans. Youth support for the TPP may also be a reflection of Obama’s

popularity with millennials.

Most countries would rather have stronger economic ties with the United States than

with China, although it’s interesting to see that staunch American allies South Korea

and Australia actually think it’s more important to trade with China.

Regionally, most countries welcome the increased U.S. military presence that came with Obama’s

pivot, although the Pakistanis don’t, and the South Koreans are naturally wary, given

that Korea was the site of an extremely bloody war between the Americans and Chinese less

than 65 years ago.

More data reveals that the Malaysians would much rather give in to China’s territorial

bullying in the South China sea than stand up to them. The most defiant country is Vietnam,

who staunchly favors being tough on China.

Partially, this defiance is bolstered by America’s Asian allies’ belief that the U.S. would

come to their defense if a serious military conflict broke out.

That belief is bolstered by significant public opinion in the U.S. in favor of defending

America’s allies in Asia using military force against China.

As helpful as this data is in allowing conclusions to be drawn about the American and Chinese

standing in the world, it raises just as many questions. What piece of data was most significant

to you? And what burning question are you left with after watching this video?

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