"He Just Stayed Still"... Xi Jinping Pulls Down Trump's Approval Rating

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[Financial News] A new survey result evokes both the saying, "If you just keep your head down, you’ll do okay," and Napoleon’s maxim, "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."
Gallup asked people in more than 130 countries last year whether they support the leadership of major powers such as the United States and China. The median level of support for China turned out to be higher than that for the United States.
Gallup announced on its website on the 3rd (local time) that support for China’s leadership rose from 32% in 2024 to 36% last year. In contrast, support for the United States fell from 39% in 2024 under former President Joe Biden to 31% last year, the first year of Trump’s second administration.
If we look only at years when China was ahead of the United States, the latest gap of 5 percentage points is the largest in the past 19 years.
During that period, China led the United States only a few times: in 2008 under the George W. Bush administration by 3 percentage points, and in 2017 and 2018 during Trump’s first term by 1 and 3 percentage points, respectively.
Disapproval of US leadership surged from 35% in 2024 to 48% last year, hitting a record high. Disapproval of China’s leadership stood at 37%.
The survey was part of Gallup’s annual World Poll. It questioned around 1,000 people in each of more than 130 countries, asking whether they approve or disapprove of how the leaders of four countries—the United States, China, Russia, and Germany—are running their governments.
Because of that timing, the poll does not reflect public opinion on events that occurred earlier this year, such as the war involving Iran.
However, since beginning his second term last year, President Trump has waged a so‐called tariff war across the globe. Gallup commented that the latest results are driven more by a drop in support for the United States than by a rise in support for China, noting that US approval is now close to its all‐time low of 30% recorded in 2017.
fair@fnnews.com Han Young-joon Reporter