Americans grow a bit friendlier toward China

Data: Pew; Chart: Axios VisualsThe percentage of Americans holding favorable views of China rose for the third straight year, according to an annual Pew survey, and has nearly doubled since 2023.Meanwhile, the share of Americans who view China as an "enemy" has fallen significantly over that time.Why it matters: Distrust of China hardened into a bipartisan consensus beginning in Trump's first term. It's now softening somewhat during Trump 2.0.The U.S. and China are the world's two superpowers, locked in a competition for technological dominance and global influence. How their citizens see one another could have some bearing on that competition.By the numbers: China's favorability among Americans bottomed out in 2023, with 14% approving and 83% disapproving.In the most recent survey, conducted in late March, 27% saw China favorably and 71% unfavorably.The increase was driven by Democrats (34% approval), who were nearly twice as likely as Republicans (18%) to view China favorably.Democrats are also far less likely than Republicans to see China as an "enemy," at 14% and 44% respectively. The overall percentage of Americans viewing China as an enemy dropped from 42% in 2024 to 28% now.However, Americans are still much more likely to label China a "competitor" than a "partner." And while confidence in President Xi Jinping to "do the right thing regarding world affairs" has doubled since 2023, it's still only at 17%.Americans don't much trust Trump's handling of the relationship with China either, with 60% lacking confidence in the president's approach.What's next: Trump is scheduled to visit China next month. He has sought warmer relations with Xi since agreeing to a trade truce last November, though tensions have risen over the war in Iran.What to watch: China's global favorability has risen as America's has fallen in Trump's second term.Methodology: Data in this report comes from Pew Research Center's nationally representative panel of randomly selected U.S. adults. The survey was conducted from March 23 to March 29, 2026. A total of 3,507 panelists responded out of 4,046 who were sampled, for a survey-level response rate of 87%. The margin of error is plus or minus 1.9 percentage points.