As the competition for global influence heats up between the United States and China, a recent survey conducted by Pew Research Center has shed light on how people in nine middle-income countries perceive their relationships with these two superpowers.
The survey, carried out between January 8 and April 21, 2025, included responses from 12,375 adults across Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, and Turkey.
These nations, categorized as middle-income by the World Bank, were asked about various political and economic issues related to their relationships with the U.S. and China, revealing that significant segments of the population in most countries see problems with both superpowers.
One notable finding is that many respondents highlighted the amount of debt owed to the U.S. as a particularly serious issue, with a median of 59% expressing this concern.
In Brazil and Kenya, this concern is even more pronounced, with 68% stating that such debt is a very serious problem for their countries.
In addition to debt, around four-in-ten or more respondents from seven of the surveyed countries viewed U.S. involvement in their countries’ politics as a very serious issue.
This sentiment was particularly high in Brazil, Indonesia, and Turkey, where about half of the participants share this view.
Concerns over U.S. military power and economic competition with the U.S. were also flagged, with a median of 43% and 40%, respectively, classifying these aspects as very serious problems.
Conversely, issues related to U.S. human rights policies garnered relatively lower concern, with only a median of 32% considering them very serious.
Interestingly, India showed the least anxiety regarding these issues, with only 31% acknowledging debt to the U.S. as very serious, and around one-in-five respondents describing the other issues in such terms.
The survey also examined perceptions of U.S. investment in these countries. While nearly three-quarters of Kenyans view this foreign investment positively due to job creation, majorities in Nigeria (66%) and India (59%) echoed this sentiment.
In contrast, Indonesians had a different perspective, with 56% believing that U.S. investment negatively impacts their domestic affairs.
Turkey and Argentina also showed a trend of more respondents viewing U.S. investment negatively rather than positively, while opinions in Mexico were more evenly split.
Data from the survey suggested a correlation between views on economic competition with the U.S. and opinions of U.S. investment. For instance, among Argentines, 67% who considered economic competition a severe issue also viewed U.S. investment unfavorably, compared to only 46% of those with less concern over that competition.
Turning to views on China, participants in Mexico, South Africa, and Turkey reported that they were more likely to characterize various problems related to the U.S. as very serious compared to those regarding China.
In fact, larger shares in these countries believed that investment from China is advantageous compared to that from the U.S.
Specifically, 48% of Turks identified U.S. involvement in their political affairs as a very serious concern, whereas only 18% felt the same about Chinese involvement.
In contrast to these perceptions, Indians appeared significantly more concerned about the problems stemming from their relations with China, often identifying each issue as grave.
Furthermore, the approval for U.S. investment in India stands higher at 59% compared to 33% for Chinese investment.
Similar to the findings regarding the U.S., individuals who deemed economic competition with China a significant issue were generally more inclined to regard Chinese investment negatively.
In Mexico, for example, about half of those concerned about economic competition with China viewed Chinese investment unfavorably, in sharp contrast to just a quarter of those who were less worried about that competition.
In conclusion, the Pew Research Center’s survey illustrates a complex landscape of attitudes towards the United States and China in the surveyed middle-income nations.
While many express concerns about the influence of both superpowers, opinions significantly vary across countries and are often linked to economic competition.
Such insights underline the nuanced dynamics of international relations and the varied implications for foreign investment in these regions.
image source from：pewresearch
