Views toward China diverge between rich and middle-income nations, Pew report shows

New poll data released by the Pew Research Center show that global views towards China appear to be divided between high-income countries and middle-income ones, and the gap is apparently widest among China’s neighbors in the Indo-Pacific region. Fifteen out of the 18 high-income nations surveyed by Pew express negative views towards China, with Japan and Australia leading the pack. By comparison, 14 of the 17 middle-income countries have rosier views of China, and Thailand has the world's most favorable views of China, according to Pew. The findings from Pew's survey were released Tuesday, as Washington hosted the annual NATO summit at a time of intensifying competition between the U.S. and China.