Most Americans are not confident in how China's Xi will handle world affairs, Pew survey finds
cnbc.comMost U.S. adults in a survey say they have little confidence that Chinese President Xi Jinping will «do the right thing regarding world affairs,» according to the poll by the Pew Research Center released Wednesday.
Despite that pessimism, more than half of people in the U.S. said the two countries can work together on trade and economic policy, the survey found.
The study, covering more than 3,500 U.S. adults between March 20 and 26, comes as U.S.-China tensions escalate to the point of limited bilateral interaction. Exerting pressure on Beijing is one of the few topics with strong bipartisan support in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Xi has consolidated his power in China and is seeking to to bolster China's global influence.
In March, China brokered the restoration of diplomatic ties between Middle East rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran. Beijing has so far refused to condemn Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, while calling for peace talks.
It is unclear how aware Pew survey respondents were of such world events and developments.
The study found 13% of Americans who participated in the survey said they have never heard of Xi — a percentage that surged to 27% among respondents ages 18 to 29.
However, most of the respondents took a pessimistic view: Nearly half, or 47%, said they had «no confidence at all» in Xi handling world affairs well, while another 30% said they had «not too much confidence.»
About three-fourths of respondents said that China does not take the interests of countries such as the U.S. into account, and that China interferes in the affairs of other countries, the report said.
More than half of the respondents said China does not contribute to global peace and stability.
That directly counters Beijing's narrative
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