China surpassed the United States in global leadership approval ratings last year, as Donald Trump's second administration began its term in earnest, according to a new Gallup survey.
The polling firm reported Thursday that the median global approval rating for Chinese leadership stood at 36% in its 2025 world survey, exceeding the 31% recorded for U.S. leadership. It marked the first time in 20 years that China's approval rating topped that of the United States by more than 5 percentage points.
The reversal stems largely from rising negative perceptions of the United States. U.S. approval fell more than 8 percentage points from the previous year's 39%, while China's approval rose 4 percentage points over the same period. Disapproval of U.S. leadership hit a record high of 48%, whereas disapproval of Chinese leadership held steady at 37%. The U.S. previously trailed China in favorability during George W. Bush's presidency in 2008 and during Trump's first term in 2018, Gallup noted.
A total of 44 countries saw U.S. approval drop more than 10 percentage points year-on-year. The decline was particularly sharp among traditional U.S. allies, including NATO member states. Germany recorded the steepest drop worldwide at 39 percentage points, closely followed by Portugal with a 38-percentage-point decline. Approval also fell in the United Kingdom and Italy, Gallup said.
By contrast, approval among Israeli citizens rose 10 percentage points. Israel's approval of U.S. leadership stood at 76% last year, ranking among the highest in the world. Türkiye and Ethiopia were also classified as countries where favorability increased significantly.
However, negative perceptions of both the U.S. and China outweighed positive views globally. Among surveyed countries, 45% gave unfavorable responses toward both nations, and the net approval rating for the two countries stood at just 29%. "Excluding 2020, when the number of surveyed countries was reduced due to the pandemic, this was the most negative period for perceptions of both countries," Gallup said.
Among the four major powers surveyed, Germany had the highest favorability at 48%. Germany has maintained the top position for nine consecutive years. Russia ranked last at 26%. None of the four countries achieved a majority approval rating.
Gallup has conducted annual surveys on global citizens' approval of the leadership of four major powers — the United States, China, Russia and Germany — since 2006. This latest survey covered more than 130 countries. The results do not reflect events such as the U.S. signing withdrawal from 66 international organizations in January or the Iran conflict in February.