China overtakes US in global leadership approval as Washington's image hits record low

China has surpassed the United States in global leadership approval ratings for the third time, with the gap between the two powers widening to its largest margin in nearly two decades, according to a new report by US advisory firm Gallup.

The survey, conducted across more than 130 countries and regions in 2025, found that a median of 36 percent of respondents approved of China's leadership, compared with 31 percent for the US. The five-percentage-point advantage represents the widest that has been recorded in China's favor, Gallup said in a report on Friday.

The report shows that US approval fell sharply from 39 percent in 2024 to 31 percent in 2025, while China's ratings rose from 32 percent to 36 percent over the same period.

At the same time, disapproval of US leadership climbed to a record high of 48 percent while China's disapproval rating remained flat at 37 percent.

Researchers used "net approval", which is measured by the percentage of approving minus that of disapproving, to provide a more complete view of global sentiment toward the US and China.

They found that "the world has never been more opinionated about US and China" and that "more countries lean toward China than the US".

The median net approval for the US was negative 15 in 2025, the lowest figure Gallup has ever recorded for the country. China's median net approval, by contrast, stood at negative 1, barely in negative territory.

This marks the third recorded instance, based on Gallup data, of China leading the US in global approval, following earlier periods during the administration of former president George W. Bush (Jan 20, 2001 to Jan 20, 2009) and current President Donald Trump's first term in office (Jan 20, 2017 to Jan 20, 2021).

Allies Turn Away

The decline in US standing was particularly pronounced among its closest partners, the Gallup report shows. Across 31 members of the NATO military alliance, median approval of US leadership plummeted by 14 percentage points to just 21 percent. Germany recorded the steepest single-country drop in the world, with approval of US leadership falling 39 points, followed by Portugal, where it fell 38 points.

Within NATO, China now holds significantly higher approval ratings than the US in eight member states, while the US leads China in only three, according to a January report by Gallup.

The firm noted that its 2025 surveys were conducted before several major developments in early 2026, including the US withdrawal from 66 international organizations in January and the outbreak of war with Iran in late February. Those events could further erode Washington's global standing, said analysts.

The Iran conflict in particular has exposed fissures in the US-led alliance system, with European partners criticizing Washington for a lack of consultation and Gulf countries facing direct economic threats from Iranian retaliation.

"Depending on the outcome of this conflict, some Gulf countries may develop concerns about US reliability as an economic and security partner," wrote Abram Paley, a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council, in an analysis last week.

"If this happens, some GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries might then choose to reinforce their partnership options beyond the US by strengthening ties with Russia and China — perhaps economically at first, but potentially also strategically."

The Trump administration's threats to leave NATO altogether, made this week after allies declined to support the current US military campaign, have only deepened anxieties among Washington's traditional partners.

The approval of US leadership has varied considerably across presidential administrations, said Gallop. The lowest rating of 30 percent was registered in the first and last years of Trump's first term and the highest rating of 49 percent was recorded in 2009 under then-president Barack Obama.

Researchers behind the survey described the trend as reflecting a fundamental transformation in international relations. "The shifting perceptions of US leadership over the past two decades reflect a world that has moved toward a more multipolar order," the report concluded. "Many countries, particularly US allies, may be more open to balancing relationships across major powers than aligning clearly with one."