A survey found that Chinese people's favorability toward Korea has increased. The recent recovery in Korea-China relations appears to be reflected ahead of President Lee Jae-myung's state visit to China.

President Lee Jae-myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose for a commemorative photo after the Korea–China summit at Gyeongju National Museum in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, in November last year. /Courtesy of the Blue House

According to the report "Chinese views on international security in 2025" that the Tsinghua Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) recently released on the 2nd, a survey of 2,000 mainland Chinese citizens aged 18 or older conducted twice, in July and Nov. last year, showed that favorability toward Korea was 2.61 out of 5, up 0.51 points from 2.10 in the previous year's survey.

In the first survey in 2023, Chinese favorability toward Korea was 2.60, fell to 2.10 in 2024, and then rose again last year. Analysts said this reflects the trend of recovering Korea-China relations.

Among the major countries in those surveyed, favorability toward Russia was highest at 3.48. However, the decline continued after 2023 (3.67) and 2024 (3.66). Next were the United Kingdom (2.92), the European Union (2.86), ASEAN (2.74), Korea (2.61), the United States (2.38), and India (2.06).

Japan's favorability was the lowest at 1.90. In the CISS survey, Japan ranked as the country with the lowest favorability among Chinese people for three consecutive years. The fallout from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's suggestion of "intervention in the event of a Taiwan contingency" appears to have been reflected.

Regarding the United States, respondents thought more positively than before, but there was strong antipathy concerning the U.S.-China dispute, and they strongly supported authorities' policies on the trade war.

Chinese favorability toward the United States fell from 2.19 in 2023 to 1.85 in 2024, then rose to 2.38 last year. The share of respondents who answered that "U.S.-China relations have improved over the past year" rose from 8.1% in 2024 to 20.3% last year.

However, 78.8% of all respondents said the core of the U.S. strategy toward China is "to contain China's development and rise." In addition, 85.1% of all respondents said they support China's retaliatory trade measures against the United States, and among them, 94.8% chose the position of "fully support."

※ This article has been translated by AI. Share your feedback here.