Other nations view China more favorably than the US, survey shows

The U.S. is losing its standing as a force for good on the world stage, so much so that China is even viewed more positively, according to a global survey.

An Ipsos Global Advisor poll of 25 nations shows other countries’ views of America dimming notably over the past year. The gauge drops the U.S. to 15th place overall, with just 40 percent of respondents viewing the nation as having a “positive influence on world affairs today.”

That’s a full 24 percentage points below a year ago, when the U.S. ranked seventh overall.

The results are from the summertime but were featured in a tweet Thursday by the World Economic Forum.

These countries have the most positive influence on the world

Neither the WEF post on the poll nor the Ipsos narrative sought to ascribe any reason for the drop-off, though political tumult has been a near-constant since President Donald Trump won election November.

The World Economic Forum sponsors a conference each January in Davos, Switzerland, where the global elite congregate to discuss geopolitical issues during the day and attend lavish parties at night.

The Ipsos poll does mirror at least one other survey.

Pew Research also released a poll in June that showed confidence in the U.S. president had dropped from 64 percent to 22 percent in the time Trump had taken office. Favorability for America overall fell from 64 percent to 49 percent while unfavorability jumped from 26 percent to 39 percent.

[The Ipsos survey sampled 18,055 adults across 25 countries: In 11 nations where there were more than 1,000 respondents, the margin of error was plus or minus 3.5 percentage points; in the 14 nations with at least 500 respondents, the margin of error was plus or minus 5 percentage points. The Pew poll covered 40,448 respondents in 37 countries; no margin of error was listed.]

In the Ipsos measure, Canada retained its standing as most positively viewed in the world, with an 81 percent rating. No nation’s percentage ranking improved over the past year, and no one declined as much as the U.S., which slipped one place behind China’s 49 percent. Russia was near the bottom, though gaining ground on the U.S.

Source: Ipsos

Among individual nations, India has the most positive view of the U.S. at 70 percent, which is a decline of 15 percentage points from last year. That’s followed by the U.S. itself at 67 percent and Brazil, with 60 percent. Poland (59 percent) and South Africa (55 percent) round out the nations where more than half have a positive view of the U.S. place in the world.

The worst view of the U.S. came from Serbia, at 16 percent, with Russia next at just 18 percent and Mexico at 23 percent. Trump has rattled Mexicans by pledging to build a border wall that he says Mexico will pay for.

In a separate question, 86 percent say the world has become more dangerous, a view that 88 percent of respondents in the U.S. also hold.