Negative views of China and leader Xi Jinping in Japan have again risen this year, a new survey has shown, amid a surge in such sentiment in advanced economies that say Beijing has handled the COVID-19 pandemic poorly.
According to a survey released late Tuesday by the Pew Research Center, majorities in 14 countries surveyed have an unfavorable opinion of China, with negative views in Australia, the U.K., Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United States, South Korea, Spain and Canada hitting their highest points since polling on the subject began more than a decade ago.
Japan, where negative views of China have remained relatively static since 2013, recorded the highest unfavorable rating among all 14 nations, at 86 percent, with 52 percent saying they viewed China as “very unfavorable” and 34 percent as “somewhat unfavorable."