Arab Public Views China More Favorably Than U.S.: Survey

CAIRO (Xinhua) – The Arab public views China more favorably than the United States, according to a recent survey.

Conducted by the Arab Barometer research network, the survey polled citizens in six countries in the Middle East -- Algeria, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia -- to gauge their attitudes on how they view China and the United States.

China is viewed favorably by 60 percent of participants in Algeria, 52 percent in Morocco, 50 percent in Tunisia, 43 percent in Lebanon, 35 percent in Jordan and 34 percent in Libya, said the survey.
In comparison, fewer than a third have a favorable view of the United States in all six countries, ranging from a high of 28 percent in Morocco to a low of 14 percent in Libya.
In terms of the involvement of the two countries in the region, fewer Arab citizens see China as a major economic threat, said the survey.
However, Arabs are far more worried about U.S. economic power being "a critical threat” to their country, including 47 percent in Lebanon, 43 percent in Tunisia and 31 percent in Algeria.
While Beijing focuses on the economic and development aspects of its relations with countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Washington concentrates on "political hegemony” to maintain its interests in the region, said Nourhan el-Sheikh, a professor of economics and political science at Cairo University.
The professor noted that China now has a global project, referring to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed in 2013 for common development and win-win economic and trade partnerships among participating states.
"This is simply the key difference between China and the United States. China says, ‘Let’s develop and win together,’ while the United States says, ‘America first!’” El-Sheikh told Xinhua.
A key reason behind the Arab public’s less favorable view of the United States is the Trump administration’s biased support for the Zionist regime, relocation of Washington’s embassy in the occupied territories to the disputed city of al-Quds, and sponsorship of normalization deals between the Zionist regime and a number of Arab states.