(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) The results of this poll commissioned by the Rockefeller Foundation in the United States show that most respondents are not happy to see the United States or China becoming the global leader, and 61% of the respondents support countries working together without relying on the participation of the two largest economies in the world.
On the question of "who is suitable to lead international affairs", Canada ranked first with 60%, followed by Japan (58%) and Australia (55%). The European Union and the United Kingdom follow with 55% and 54% support respectively, while the United Nations has 52%.
In comparison, only 39% of respondents feel comfortable with the United States taking a leadership role, while only 37% think China is suitable, and 26% feel comfortable with Russia's leadership role.
The poll was conducted in 34 countries from July 21 to August 5 this year, with more than 35,000 respondents.
Eric Pelofsky, vice president of the Rockefeller Foundation, said that the survey results show that the "middle power" line advocated by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney does have global credibility. The middle power line means that medium-sized countries must join forces to fight against the hegemony and protectionism of powerful countries.
Perlovsky pointed out that the poll results reflect that "the United States' global leadership is being weakened. When people discuss solutions to global problems, they no longer prioritize asking the United States for their views. This is a heavy blow."
It is worth noting that the differences in views on China between respondents from developing and developed countries are very obvious. 53% of respondents in developing countries feel comfortable with China taking a leadership role, compared with only 23% in rich countries.
Major global threats: Russia, the United States, China
Without taking into account the evaluation of the respondent's home country, Russia was listed as the most worrying country among 14 countries. 42% of the respondents believed that Russia was a major threat, higher than the 34% of the United States and 30% of China. Among them, the regions with the highest proportion of considering Russia as a threat were mainly concentrated in Europe.
In addition, the United States is regarded as the biggest threat by respondents from 15 countries, with the highest proportions including Indonesia (73%), Brazil (59%), Mexico (58%) and Turkey (57%).
Seventy percent of respondents are pessimistic about the future of the economy and security
In addition to trust in the leaders of major powers, this survey also reflects the views of respondents from various countries on economic development and security challenges. Nearly 70% of them believe that they have a pessimistic attitude, and only 38% of the respondents believe that their country’s economy will improve in the next five years.
Despite this, 57% of the respondents still believe that countries should cooperate to solve global challenges such as security, even if this means having to make concessions on some national interests, a slight increase compared with last year.
Since U.S. President Trump took office in 2025, he imposed tariffs on imported goods from almost all countries, triggering international economic turmoil. At the end of February this year, the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran, and Tehran closed the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global energy markets, dragging down economic growth and pushing up inflation.
Increased trust in international organizations
Over the past year, support from international institutions has generally increased. The trust of respondents from various countries in the World Health Organization has increased from 61% to 69% in 2025; the United Nations has increased from 58% to 62%.
The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Criminal Court (ICC), three institutions that were rated as "failing" in last year's survey, have all shown significant improvements this year. Among them, trust in the World Bank rose from 46% to 55%; the International Monetary Fund rose from 43% to 51%; the International Criminal Court rose from 48% to 54%; and trust in the World Trade Organization also rose from 50% to 57%.
