Whose Soft Power Is More Powerful?

Recently, China has begun to outpace the U.S. in key areas of hard power. Economically, China has surpassed the U.S. in purchasing power parity (a popular macroeconomic analysis metric used to compare economic productivity and standards of living between countries—Ed.), making it the world’s largest manufacturer and trader, notably impacting global supply chains.

The country has invested heavily in distinctive infrastructure projects like high-speed rail and major energy initiatives, and has made remarkable progress, being a pioneer in various hi-tech industries.

It ranks top for patents and utility models, and is a major player in global science and technology hubs. The country excels in fields like 5G, electric vehicles and power batteries, and has made major advances in AI. China also leads in wind and solar energy technology.

However, until recently, China’s soft power was regarded as its weakness. Many critics have criticized, and continue to criticize, China for not doing enough to strengthen its soft power globally. Nonetheless, Beijing is gradually but steadily succeeding in this vital competition.

The opposite trend can be observed in American soft power. The country has recently been losing its appeal, and this trend has been apparent for several years.

A report published on July 15 by the Pew Research Center, a recognized authority on public opinion research, indicates that in high-income nations, the median of respondents with a favorable opinion of China rose to 32 percent, the highest in six years. Meanwhile, this percentage dropped to 35 percent for the U.S., the lowest since 2017.

“If we look just at the 10 high-income countries where we have surveyed annually for the past nine years, the U.S. and China views are now closer together than at any point since 2018,” the survey results read.

We must emphasize that the Pew Research Center is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It provides insights into social issues, public opinion and demographic trends affecting the world, and would be difficult to accuse of being overly favorable toward China.

The surveys were conducted from January 8 to April 26, 2025, and collected responses from over 28,000 adults across 24 developed and developing countries, mainly from Group of 20 nations, excluding Russia and China. As a result, the statistics primarily represent the views of so-called “Western-oriented” countries that do not favor the Chinese political and social development model.

This year, in 12 of the countries surveyed, more respondents believed China is the world’s top economy compared to the U.S. In eight countries, the majority believed the U.S. holds that position. Opinions are evenly split between China and the U.S. in the remaining four countries.

In eight countries, perceptions of the U.S. are more positive than those of China, especially in Israel, where 83 percent of the respondents viewed the U.S. favorably, compared to only 33 percent for China. The respondents in the Republic of Korea and Japan also shared similar, though less pronounced, opinions. A key trait of these nations is their complete reliance on Washington for security.

The survey conducted in India yielded similar findings, with China considered the country’s main competitor in Asia.

People tended to view China more favorably than the U.S. in seven countries, namely, Spain, South Africa, Türkiye, Greece, Kenya, Indonesia and Mexico. Most of these countries are developing nations in the Global South.

What can we expect from the Pew report in the upcoming years? The United States’ attractiveness will probably decrease, particularly among its allies.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive actions, such as directly intimidating sovereign nations and implementing a steep tariff policy, will likely damage the United States’ reputation as a desirable ally. Under the current policies of the Trump administration, Washington is likely to lose its authority rapidly and, as a result, face a decline in international support.

The author is former prime minister of Kyrgyzstan, a distinguished professor of the Belt and Road School at Beijing Normal University and author of the book Central Asia’s Economic Rebirth in the Shadow of the New Great Game.