Trump has leaned heavily into personal praise for China and Xi Jinping, presenting the relationship as something he can manage through personal chemistry.

But China is not treating this as a love story. It is treating it as a strategic opening.

Gallup’s latest global leadership data shows China has edged ahead of the United States in global approval. Median approval of U.S. leadership fell to 31%, while approval of China’s leadership rose to 36%. Gallup described the five-point gap as the largest lead it has recorded for China over the United States. U.S. disapproval also reached 48%, while China’s disapproval remained at 37%.

That does not mean China is broadly beloved. It means the United States is losing ground in the global perception contest — and Beijing benefits when Washington looks chaotic, transactional, or internally divided.

ONEST Take:
Trump is treating China as a relationship. China is treating the United States as a strategic opening.

Trump wants chemistry. Beijing wants leverage.

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Olga Nesterova
Olga Nesterova
Olga Nesterova is a journalist and founder of ONEST Network, a reader-supported platform covering U.S. and global affairs. A former White House correspondent and UN diplomat, she focuses on international security and geopolitical strategy.

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