The Great Divide: The U.S. and China's PR Battle

The U.S. and China have been at odds for as long as most of us can remember, both battling to be the political, economic, and cultural superpower of the world. In the game of international politics, it’s not a matter of “good guy” and “bad guy,” but a game of whichever one has the better PR campaign and reputation. 

At the moment? It’s definitely not China. In two separate surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center and the Levada Center, only two out of 18 countries surveyed preferred China to the U.S. One of the countries was, unsurprisingly, Russia, but the second was a surprise: Singapore.

Although many participants from Singapore hold a favorable view of the U.S., it’s important to remember that over 70 percent of its citizens have Chinese ancestors. And even more surprisingly, it was almost a close tie in some Western countries, namely Greece and Spain. 

While the animosity between Chinese and American leaders is known far and wide, the nations with the lowest regard for Beijing might be closer to home. After a century of tension, Japan is still the country with the most unfavorable views of China, followed closely by the U.S. and South Korea.

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