US seen in favourable light though China's image remains highly negative: Pew study

New Delhi: In the recent times, China's image has taken a massive blow while the US has gained popularity, according to a new Pew Research Center Survey among several advanced nations.

Views of people across 17 advanced economies were reviewed and most of them continue to see China in an unfavorable light while US seems to seen favaourably since US President Joe Biden took office. In contrast, confidence in President Xi Jinping remains unchanged and near historic lows.

The findings are part of a nationally representative survey conducted from between February 1 to May 26, 2021, among 18,850 people in 17 advanced economies.

In every place surveyed except New Zealand, around half or more have a favorable opinion of the US. It is highest in South Korea, where 77 per cent have positive views of the US, while around two-thirds or more in the US, Italy, Japan, France and the UK say the same.

Among the 17 nations surveyed, most of the advanced economies surveyed have broadly negative views of China - including around three-quarters or more who say this in Japan (88%), Sweden (80%), Australia (78%), South Korea (77%) and the U.S. (76%). Only in Greece and Singapore around half or more have a favorable view of China.

Meanwhile, in another study the Washington DC-based nonpartisan think tank, found that a majority of Indians enjoy religious freedom, value religious tolerance and believe that respect for all religions is central to the idea of India.

The Pew study is based on a face-to-face survey of 29,999 Indian adults between late 2019 and early 2020, weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world. According to the Pew survey, people of all six major religious groups - Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists-overwhelmingly believe they are very free to practice their faiths.