"Chinese Public Favorability Toward South Korea Rises... U.S. Favorability Also Increases"

Tsinghua CISS "International Security Survey"
79% of Respondents Say "U.S. Is Containing China's Rise"

A recent survey found that Chinese public sentiment toward South Korea has improved ahead of President Lee Jaemyung's upcoming state visit to China.

According to the "2025 Chinese Perceptions of International Security" report released by the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) at Tsinghua University on January 2, the center conducted two rounds of surveys in July and November last year, targeting 2,000 mainland Chinese citizens aged 18 and above. The results showed that the favorability rating for South Korea was 2.61 out of 5, an increase of 0.51 points from the previous year's score of 2.10. The favorability rating for South Korea among Chinese respondents was 2.60 in the first survey in 2023, dropped to 2.10 in 2024, and then rose again last year. This appears to reflect the recent trend of improving China-South Korea relations.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are seen leaving the meeting room while conversing after concluding the U.S.-China summit on October 30 last year at Naraemaru Protocol Hall, Busan Gimhae Air Base. Photo by Yonhap News

Among the major countries included in this survey, Russia received the highest favorability rating at 3.48. However, favorability toward Russia has been declining, from 3.67 in 2023 and 3.66 in 2024. Following Russia, the countries with the highest favorability ratings were the United Kingdom (2.92), the European Union (2.86), ASEAN (2.74), South Korea (2.61), the United States (2.38), and India (2.06).

Japan, which has been experiencing tensions with China following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks suggesting possible intervention in a Taiwan contingency, received the lowest favorability rating at 1.90. Japan has ranked as the country with the lowest favorability among Chinese respondents for three consecutive years in the CISS survey.

While Chinese citizens have a more favorable view of the United States than before, the survey found that there is still significant resentment regarding U.S.-China strategic competition, and strong support for government policies in the ongoing trade war. The favorability rating for the United States dropped from 2.19 in 2023 to 1.85 in 2024, but then jumped to 2.38 last year. The percentage of respondents who believed that "U.S.-China relations have improved over the past year" also rose significantly, from 8.1% in 2024 to 20.3% last year.

However, as many as 78.8% of respondents said that the core of U.S. strategy toward China is "to contain China's development and rise." In addition, 85.1% of all respondents said they support China's trade retaliation measures against the United States. Among those who support these measures, an overwhelming majority-94.8%-said they "fully support" them.

In the newly added survey on favorability toward neighboring countries, Pakistan (3.34), Singapore (3.27), Malaysia (3.08), and North Korea (3.08) received high scores, while the scores for the Philippines (2.35), India (2.18), and Myanmar (2.13) were relatively low.