Global views of China and Xi improve, while they decline about the US and Trump, survey says
Released Tuesday, the survey shows that international views of the two superpowers and their leaders are closer than ever. The results are a drastic departure from those in the past several years when the U.S. and its leader — then-President Joe Biden — enjoyed more favorable international views than China and its president.
In its latest survey of 24 countries, Pew found that the U.S. was viewed more favorably than China in eight countries, China was viewed more favorably in seven, and the two were viewed about equally in the remainder.
Pew did not provide definitive explanations for the shifts, but Laura Silver, associate director of research, said it's possible that views of a country may change when those of another superpower shift.
'As the U.S. potentially looks like a less reliable partner and people have limited confidence, for example, in Trump to lead the global economy, China may look different in some people's eyes,' Silver said.
Also, China's human rights policies and its handling of the pandemic — which were related to negative views of the country in the past — may not weigh as much this time, she said.
A group of Democratic senators this week accused the Trump administration of ceding global influence to China by shuttering foreign aid programs, imposing tariffs on allies, cracking down on elite universities and restricting visas for international students.
In the Pew findings, 35% of those in 10 high-income countries surveyed consistently — including Canada, France, Germany and Italy — have favorable opinions of the U.S., down from 51% from last year.
By comparison, 32% of them have positive views of China, up from last year's 23%. And 24% of them say they have confidence in Trump, compared with 53% last year for Biden.
Xi scored a slight improvement: 22% of those in these rich countries say they have confidence in the Chinese president, up from last year's 17%.
However, people in Israel have far more favorable views of the U.S. than of China: 83% of Israelis like the U.S., compared with 33% who say they have positive views of China. And 69% of them say they have confidence in Trump, while only 9% express confidence in Xi.
Pew surveyed more than 30,000 people across 25 countries — including the U.S., which was excluded from the comparison — from Jan. 8 to April 26. The margins of error for each country ranged from plus or minus 2.5 to plus or minus 4.7.
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Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures pause after march to latest records
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Shares of Australian graphite miner Syrah Resources Ltd. (SYAAF) surged as much as 38%, while shares of South Korea's Posco Future M Co. ( climbed 24%. Novonix Ltd. (NVNXF), an Australian-listed company with a graphite production plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, surged 21%. Gains in these and other Asian stocks tracked earlier jumps in Canadian peers including Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. (NMG) The Commerce Department issued the preliminary determination Thursday, and a final plan should be announced by Dec. 5. The US determined that China, which dominates the processing capacity of graphite, had been unfairly subsidizing the industry. Graphite is a key raw material in the anodes of electric-vehicle batteries. About two-thirds of the material imported by the US still came from China last year. Read more here. Bloomberg reports: Stocks of battery material makers climbed after the US announced it would impose preliminary anti-dumping duties of 93.5% on graphite imports from China. Shares of Australian graphite miner Syrah Resources Ltd. (SYAAF) surged as much as 38%, while shares of South Korea's Posco Future M Co. ( climbed 24%. Novonix Ltd. (NVNXF), an Australian-listed company with a graphite production plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, surged 21%. Gains in these and other Asian stocks tracked earlier jumps in Canadian peers including Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. (NMG) The Commerce Department issued the preliminary determination Thursday, and a final plan should be announced by Dec. 5. The US determined that China, which dominates the processing capacity of graphite, had been unfairly subsidizing the industry. Graphite is a key raw material in the anodes of electric-vehicle batteries. About two-thirds of the material imported by the US still came from China last year. Read more here. Netflix stock slips after a 'solid' report Netflix (NFLX) shares are faltering in premarket trading, despite "solid" second quarter earnings. The streamer delivered beats on both profit and sales, and upped its full-year revenue guidance in its report late Thursday. Some on Wall Street had flagged Netflix's lofty valuation going into the print, Yahoo Finance's Allie Canal reports. Bloomberg Intelligence senior media analyst Geetha Ranganathan told Yahoo Finance that the stock was priced to perfection heading into the report. "It was a really solid print," Ranganathan said in reaction to the earnings. "The big thing that investors were really focused on was commentary for the rest of the year, and they delivered there as well." Ranganathan also noted that while the operating margin was also solid, it was "maybe not spectacular." "I think investors were looking for something a little but more here," she said. "So it was originally forecast at 29% for the full year operating margin — they just took that up a smidge to 29.5%. I think investors were looking somewhere in the range of 30%-31%." 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Investors may be reacting to the narrower-than-hoped revenue beat and looking ahead to guidance. Norfolk Southern (NSC) Share value in railroad operator Norfolk Southern soared 4.7% in after-hours trading following a report from WSJ that Union Pacific is in preliminary talks to acquire the railroad operator. There's also discussion of a merger in the possible creation of what would be America's largest railroad. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Hill
10 minutes ago
- The Hill
China pledges to crack down on illicit exports of rare earths, urges US to lift more trade controls
BANGKOK (AP) — China's state security agency says it is cracking down on alleged smuggling of rare earths minerals that it says threaten national security, just weeks after Beijing and Washington agreed to make it easier for American firms to obtain from China those materials, which are critical for manufacturing and computer chip production. In a report published Friday in the state-run newspaper Global Times, the Ministry of State Security said foreign 'espionage and intelligence agencies' were colluding to steal rare earths-related goods by repackaging and relabeling rare metals to hide their Chinese origin. In some cases the minerals were falsely declared as non-controlled items, mislabeled as such things as 'solder paste,' mixed into other materials like ceramic tiles, or hidden in plastic mannequins or bottled water, it said. It referred only to an unnamed 'certain country' that it said lacked the capacity to make and refine its own rare earths. Investigations had found Chinese criminals were involved, exploiting shipping and delivery channels to evade controls on exports of the materials used in many high-tech applications including electric vehicle batteries, it said. The crackdown followed a report by Reuters earlier this month detailing how rare earths were being transshipped to the U.S. via Thailand and Mexico. China is the main source for many strategically vital rare earths and it has moved to slow exports of such minerals in retaliation for steep import duties President Donald Trump has imposed on Chinese goods since he returned to the White House and launched his crusade to overturn a global trading system he says is unfair to the United States and its workers. That followed an earlier series of restrictions by Beijing on exports of such materials as gallium, germanium, antimony and tungsten in response to trade friction with the administration of then-President Joe Biden. In April, Beijing imposed permitting requirements on seven rare earth elements, under a Chinese law that applies to all exports, not just those bound for the U.S. market. With the permitting process taking 45 days, the new requirement caused a pause in shipments, threatening to disrupt production of cars, robots, wind turbines and other high-tech products in the U.S. and around the world. The U.S., meanwhile, added to restrictions on exports of advanced technologies to China. Rare earths have remained at the center of China-U.S. talks aimed at staving off huge tariff increases that were postponed in May to allow time for negotiations on a broader trade agreement. The deadline for reaching a deal is Aug. 12. An agreement announced in late June did not remove China's permitting requirement on rare earths, but Beijing agreed to flexibility in dialing up or down the approval process as needed. Computer chips are another key bone of contention. The Chinese Commerce Ministry said Friday that it had taken note of a decision by the Trump administration to lift restrictions on exports of key semiconductors used in artificial intelligence made by Nvidia and its rival Advanced Micro Devices. In April, the Trump administration announced it would restrict sales of Nvidia's H20 chips to China — as well as MI308 chips from AMD. But Commerce Ministry spokesman Wang Wentao said restoring healthy trade ties will require more action by Washington. U.S. export controls on Ascend chips made by Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies have hurt the interests of Chinese companies, Wang told reporters in Beijing. 'We hope that the United States and China will meet each other halfway and correct their wrong practices through equal consultation, create a good environment for mutually beneficial cooperation between enterprises of both sides, and jointly maintain the stability of the global semiconductor production and supply chain,' he said.
The Hill
10 minutes ago
- The Hill
Whole Hog Politics: It's the socialism, stupid
On the menu: Epstein scandal not going quietly; Cornyn gets a boost; Hogg-tied; Ernst headed for the exits?; 'TacticalGramma' There's something familiar about the way a lot of Democrats are talking these days about their party's nominee for New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani. A standard line from Democrats skeptical of socialistic policies and anxious about anti-Israel energy is to say something about how mainstream candidates can learn a lot from his style: social media-savvy, high-energy, and focused on kitchen-table issues. They say it was ' a brilliant campaign ' and duck the substance. The echo you're hearing there hearkens back a decade to what Republicans were saying about Donald Trump 's early successes. It was the same shtick: Mainstream candidates, it was said, could learn a lot from Trump's grasp of Twitter, blunt talk, media savviness, use of humor and pugnacity. Imitation soon followed, and to predictably disastrous results. Like, really disastrous. Really, really disastrous. Certainly for a general election, style tends to matter more than substance. Lower-propensity voters without strong attachments to either major party are bound to be less concerned about the fine points of policy than the super-high-frequency voters who populate a primary electorate. Vibes matter with those voters, but big ideological questions tend to be front and center. If Trump had been a celebrity squish with an appetite for comprehensive immigration reform, it wouldn't have mattered if he was famous or funny or good at Twitter. So it goes with Mamdani and the adventures in economic planning and the thrill of denouncing Zionism. When it comes to the lesson for the blue team, the The New York Times's Nate Cohn said it best: The Democratic Party has shifted dramatically to the left in the past decade. 'Today, liberal Democrats outnumber moderate and conservative ones by 12 percentage points, according to Gallup, 55 percent to 43 percent. In 2016 and 2020, liberals were essentially even with moderate and conservative Democrats.' That's not to say that Mamdani didn't run a terrific campaign. In fact, he still is. Faced with a challenge from the right by independents Andrew Cuomo and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, Mamdani isn't playing it safe. Safe would be to count on those two to divide the anti-socialist vote and smash through to victory by keeping his progressive base fired up and freaked out. That would certainly be the Trump-y move. Instead, Mamdani is trying to grow his coalition by visiting with business leaders and calling on tDemocratic members of Congress. Sure, Mamdani didn't win many converts from the Upper West Side, and, sure, many of the big-name Washington pols who met with him were already on his side. But the big part is showing up, and doing it with a smile. You could say that Adams is reaching out to his right, too. Only he's skipping the center and going for the fringe, as he rakes in big bucks from Trump-aligned donors and spends his media moments on Fox News. Good for keeping busy and maybe even for beating Republican Curtis Sliwa in Staten Island, but not exactly a mainstream choice. And with Sliwa bangers like ' slapping fannies and killing grannies,' maybe not even Staten Island. But if Adams has plenty of money rolling in and gets to keep busy doing media, that's a serious problem for Cuomo, who is trying very hard to get into a one-on-one race with Mamdani, going so far as to say he would drop out if he's trailing Adams in the homestretch, and wants Adams to do the same. Mamdani is no dummy and knows that it would be a mistake to underestimate the threat Cuomo poses. The general electorate looks very little like the primary, and Mamdani's critics will now have months to hammer his weaknesses, not just on the substance of socialism and anti-Zionism but also on the style. What can delight the true believers may come off as slick or phony when presented to a broader audience. Certainly, Cuomo is in no danger of coming off as too slick, and can summon what seems to be a kind of enthusiasm when talking about things like mass transit and sewer improvements. Given the crowded field, is that enough to deny Mamdani a win? Probably not, but it won't be a cakewalk, even if Adams just hangs around to audition for a cable news contributorship. The lesson for Democrats in all this is the same one that Republicans failed to grasp about Trump in 2016. Mamdani's success is certainly about his prodigious gifts as a politician, but those aren't easily replicated. What is replicable is a platform, and with the right one, a radical minority movement within a larger party can stage a hostile takeover. It happened to Republicans around immigration, and one of these days, it may happen to Democrats around socialism. Establishment Democrats managed to keep an avowed socialist from winning their party's nomination in 2020 and 2024 and even managed the controlled demolition of an incumbent president's reelection campaign in favor of another normie. And the old guard's ability to deliver solid, electable moderates for races this year in New Jersey and Virginia similarly speaks well of the health of the normies. The spectacular failure of aspiring enfant terrible David Hogg this week in the first test of his youth movement in an Arizona House primary would seem to point in the same direction, but look closer. The Hogg-backed candidate, Deja Foxx, a '25-year-old political content creator' isn't substantially more radical than the winner, Adelita Grijalva. Indeed, what Hogg mostly seems to be focused on is youth for youth's sake and social media virality. He's trying to do the same thing that old-head Democrats are talking about learning from Mamdani. That, again, misses the point. Mamdani has many specific attributes and won in a very unusual kind of primary where an incumbent mayor had left the party and the front-runner was dragging heavy baggage. Those are not things that can be replicated in other Democratic primaries, but his socialism can be. Holy croakano! We welcome your feedback, so please email us with your tips, corrections, reactions, amplifications, etc. at WHOLEHOGPOLITICS@ If you'd like to be considered for publication, please include your real name and hometown. If you don't want your comments to be made public, please specify. NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION Trump Job Performance Average Approval: 41.8% Average Disapproval: 54.2% Net Score: -12.4 Change from one week ago: -1.2 points Change from one month ago: -0.8 points [Average includes: Reuters/Ipsos 41% approve – 54% disapprove; AP-NORC 40% approve 58% disapprove; Echelon Insights 45% approve – 53% disapprove; Quinnipiac 40% approve – 54% disapprove; Marist 43% approve -52% disapprove] Confidence in higher ed rebounds How much confidence do you, yourself, have in higher education: Now vs one year ago Great deal/Quite a lot: 42% to 36% Some: 33% to 32% Very little/None: 23% to 32% [ Gallup survey of 1,402 U.S. adults, June 2-26 ] ON THE SIDE: IT'S ALWAYS IN THE LAST PLACE YOU LOOK Earth: 'A dusty envelope misplaced in a government archive has rewritten a chapter of mineral history. That 1949 letter, discovered during a 2023 digitization project in Bavaria, pointed curators toward a shoebox of lemon‑yellow fragments that had sat unnoticed for decades. Roland Eichhorn of the Bavarian State Office for the Environment (LfU) led the modern hunt that followed, and his team soon realized they were staring at humboldtine, one of the scarcest minerals on the planet. Archivists scanning shelves in Hof found the coal‑mine owner's note and the tantalizing phrase: 'Humboldtine from the Mathias mine near Schwandorf.' Their curiosity sent Eichhorn's crew rifling through more than 130,000 catalogued specimens stored beneath the LfU headquarters. In a small box, the team found hazelnut‑sized yellow fragments and a handwritten label that matched the location mentioned in the letter.' PRIME CUTS Dems pounce as Trump fails to quell MAGA revolt on Epstein: Associated Press: 'Democrats are latching on to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, demanding records be released and trolling Republicans on social media, news shows and in the U.S. House as they revel in a rare fissure between President Donald Trump and his fiercely loyal base. … The controversy puts many elected Republicans in an uncomfortable position, caught between a president who demands loyalty and a sizable segment of their base convinced the files will expose a vast conspiracy covered up by elites. House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday became the highest-ranking Republican to break with Trump on Epstein, telling conservative podcaster Benny Johnson that 'we should put everything out there and let the people decide.'' Poll shows Republicans almost evenly split on Trump's handling of scandal: USA Today: 'Voters aren't happy with how President Donald Trump's team is dealing with the controversial Jeffrey Epstein case as the MAGA family feud over the deceased financier's sordid past continues to divide Republicans. A new Quinnipiac University survey released on July 16 shows almost two-thirds of voters disapprove of the administration's handling of the case a week after the Justice Department and the FBI released no new files and concluded that the convicted sex offender died by suicide in his jail cell. Just 17% of registered voters gave the Trump administration a thumbs up when asked about the Epstein fallout versus 63% who gave them a thumbs down. … The Quinnipiac poll shows an almost even split among GOP voters, however, with 40% approving compared to 36% disapproving, with another 24% saying they don't have an opinion. Democrats and independents overwhelmingly have expressed displeasure, with 83% and 71% disapproving, respectively.' Cornyn cash haul helps calm GOP jitters: The Hill: Sen. John Cornyn's (R-Texas) reelection campaign announced Monday that he raised more than $3.9 million in the second quarter of the year, surpassing the sum raised by his top primary rival. … Cornyn's announced fundraising haul comes days after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, his challenger in the Republican primary, announced his campaign raised $2.9 million during the same period. … The incumbent is facing arguably the toughest fight of his political career, as most polls show Paxton leading him in the primary, which is slated for early March. … A source told The Hill last week that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), who is supporting Cornyn, met with President Trump on Wednesday evening to discuss upcoming Senate races, including the Lone Star State's. It's unclear whether Trump, who is an ally of both Cornyn and Paxton, will endorse in the race.' Judge shields Paxton divorce records from the public: KUT: 'The judge currently handling Attorney General Ken Paxton 's divorce case has decided to shield the records in the case from public disclosure. Judge Ray Wheless, a Republican serving as the regional administrative judge for North Texas, ordered the case records be sealed Friday. He was brought on to the case after the judge originally assigned to the case, Jill Renfro Willis, recused herself. While Willis did not give a reason for her recusal, she and her husband, Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis, have longtime ties to the Paxtons. Sealing the court records means the public will not have access to further filings in the case, which has garnered significant public interest given the Paxtons' political prominence and past links between the attorney general's infidelity and allegations of corruption.' Hogg thwarted as Adelita Grijalva protects late father's seat: Forbes: ' Deja Foxx, a popular social media influencer, lost Tuesday night's Democratic primary for the congressional seat vacated by the death of Rep. Raul Grijalva in March to the late congressman's daughter Adelita Grijalva, who was backed by top Democrats and progressive lawmakers like Rep. A lexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen Bernie Sanders. … Arizona's 7th district is heavily Democratic leaning, according to the Cook Political Report, meaning whoever wins Tuesday's primary will be a heavy favorite in the Sept. 23 general election. Republicans only hold a slim majority in the House and are keen to pick up any available seats. … Foxx was also one of the candidates endorsed by Leaders We Deserve, the political organization founded by former Democratic National Committee vice chair David Hogg with the intention of winning primary elections against sitting Democrats 'unwilling or unable to meet the moment' and 'asleep at the wheel.'' Obama tells Dems to stop whining: CNN: 'Former President Barack Obama issued a call to action for Democrats at a private fundraiser in New Jersey on Friday evening, urging those frustrated by the state of the country under President Donald Trump to 'stand up for the things that you think are right.' … 'I think it's going to require a little bit less navel-gazing and a little less whining and being in fetal positions. And it's going to require Democrats to just toughen up.' … As Democrats debate who should lead the party, Obama encouraged them to channel their energy into the governor's races in New Jersey and Virginia, saying the off-year elections could be 'a big jumpstart for where we need to go.'' SHORT ORDER Puny fundraising spurs speculation about possible Ernst retirement — KCRG Perennial candidate Stacey Abrams puts Georgia Dems on notice: She may run again — NPR Rep. Zach Nunn (R) drops potential Iowa governor bid after Trump steers him back to House — KCCI D.C. voters reward Councilman Trayon White with return to office after expulsion for corruption — WTOP Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) blames 'processing error' for $85,000 in unpaid rent — The Hill Poll shows Spanberger still holds dominating Virginia gubernatorial lead — The Hill Former Rep. Mary Peltola keeps Alaska Dems in suspense — Northern Journal TABLE TALK: EXIT SANDMAN 'Absolutely not authorized.' — A spokesperson for the band Metallica when asked about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth 's use of the band's hit 'Enter Sandman' for a video of himself with aerial drones. The Pentagon removed the music at the band's request. You should email us! Write to WHOLEHOGPOLITICS@ with your tips, kudos, criticisms, insights, rediscovered words, wonderful names, recipes, and, always, good jokes. Please include your real name—at least first and last—and hometown. Make sure to let us know in the email if you want to keep your submission private. My colleague, the boldly determined Meera Sehgal, and I will look for your emails and then share the most interesting ones and my responses here. Clickety clack! FOR DESSERT: THE GOLDEN AGE OF GAMING The Guardian: 'The military shooter game has a predominantly young male user base, but Statham's Twitch handle is TacticalGramma — a nod to the 60-year-old's two grandkids. Her lifelong gaming hobby has become an income stream. … 'A lot of people are surprised that someone my age is playing video games,' [Michelle] Statham admits. She finds the gameplay exhilarating. 'When I get really good long sniper shots in, or down someone out of a helicopter, that's pretty fun,' she says. Statham is one of the 57 million Americans over 50 who game, a cohort that represents 28% of roughly 205 million total US gamers. … According to the ESA, nearly half of Americans in their 60s and 70s play some form of PC, mobile or console video game every week, as do 36% of people in their 80s.' Chris Stirewalt is the politics editor for The Hill and NewsNation, the host of ' The Hill Sunday '
