• Study finds more educated, urban Chinese see the US less favourably than they view European nations, with Germany the favourite
• Findings offer counterpoint to recent Pew survey results showing negative views of China at near or historic highs in many of the 19 countries polled

Chinese people hold a much more favourable opinion of European countries than they do of the United States, an online survey has found.

“Chinese views of European countries and the US diverge sharply, despite these countries being typically grouped together as ‘the West’ in mainstream English and Chinese discourses,” the researchers said.

Xi Jinping calls on Germany to steer ‘healthy and stable’ China-EU ties21 Dec 2022

US, West ‘uncomfortable’ with losing world dominance amid China’s rise: Singapore’s George Yeo

George Yeo said the US and the West are ‘uncomfortable’ with the idea of a multipolar world given their long dominanceThe ex-foreign minister of Singapore also said the rise of China has prompted countries to increasingly view Beijing as a challenge and even a threat

The United States and other Western nations are “uncomfortable” with the idea of a multipolar world given their long dominance but they should not resist it, Singapore’s ex-foreign minister has said.

George Yeo, who was the country’s top diplomat from 2004 to 2011, said the West had been used to the “dominance of their values being universal [and] of judging others against their own standards”.

“But it’s changing,” he told a forum on Tuesday organised by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.

US moves to strengthen Taiwan military ties ‘a sign of malice’, says Chinese analyst

The National Defence Authorisation Act, which has passed the Senate, includes provisions for a training programme with the island and a military presenceBeijing has protested Washington’s growing ties with the island, and a visit by former House speaker Nancy Pelosi triggered an unprecedented wave of PLA exercises

US moves to establish a military training programme with Taiwan, including full-scale joint exercises, are a sign of Washington’s “malicious attitude”, according to a Chinese military analyst.

The National Defence Authorisation Act 2023, which was passed by the US Senate last week and now heads for US President Joe Biden to sign into law, includes measures to improve Taiwan’s defences with the aim of deterring aggression from the Chinese mainland.

Fu Qianshao, a retired equipment specialist from the PLA Air Force, said inviting Taiwan to participate in military exercises would indicate a “very sensitive trend”.