China surpasses US in approval of leadership

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

The survey, which was conducted at the end of last year across more than 130 countries and regions, found that a median of 36 percent of respondents approved of China's leadership, compared with 31 percent for the US. Gallup said that the 5-percentage-point advantage represented the widest it has recorded in China's favor in nearly 20 years.

The survey found 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.

This marks the third time Gallup has recorded China leading the US in global approval, with the previous two instances occurring during the George W. Bush administration (Jan 20, 2001 to Jan 20, 2009) and Donald Trump's first term (Jan 20, 2017 to Jan 20, 2021).

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 rated countries.

The median net approval for the US was negative 15 in 2025, the lowest figure Gallup has ever recorded for the country.

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

Gallup noted that the surveys were conducted in 2025, 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.

"If the survey was conducted now, after the US attacks on Iran and Venezuela, it is likely that the global US approval ratings would be even lower, given that most people around the world would agree that the US actions are illegitimate and violate international law," said Zhu Zhiqun, a professor of political science and international relations and director of Bucknell University's China Institute.

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

Gallup also said the approval of US leadership has varied considerably across presidential administrations. 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 when Barack Obama was president.

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.

Zhu from Bucknell University agreed. "The latest Gallup poll is further evidence that the world has become multipolar now, and the era of the US dominance in global affairs is over."