Roving Periscope: Not only Indians and Italians, but even Brazilians mistrust China
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: While Italy has become the latest country to announce to quit the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) by December 2023, and as several other Asian and African countries are trying to throw away the Chinese debt traps, new research has said even Brazilians mistrust China.
According to a Pew Research report, the negative perception of Beijing is very high in many countries. Nearly 57 percent of Brazilians say China interferes in the internal affairs of other nations.
Brazil and India—both leading members of the emerging economies group called the Brazil-Russia-India-China and South Africa (BRICS)—are skeptical and have negative perceptions of China, mainly because of Covid-19 and the 2020 border disputes, respectively.
This impression is based on a 24-nation survey conducted by the US think tank Pew Research Center (PRC) from February 20 to May 22, 2023, the media reported.
“Negative views extend to evaluations of China’s international actions. Despite several high-profile diplomatic initiatives by Beijing over the past year – such as brokering a peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran and issuing a 12-point proposal for the end of violence in Ukraine – a median of 71 percent think China does not contribute to global peace and stability,” said the survey.
People’s opinions about China, which are ‘broadly negative’ in India and Brazil, have risen 21 percent. The PRC survey included 2,611 respondents in India and 1,044 in Brazil. Nearly 48 percent of Brazilians hold negative impressions of China, up from 27 percent in 2019. Indians having negative views of China jumped from 46 percent in 2019 to 67 percent now.
While the border dispute after the Chinese invasion of Galwan Valley in East Ladakh in 2020 fuelled Indian reservations against China, the Covid-19 pandemic led the Brazilians to have a negative view of the Asian country.
Nearly 76 percent of respondents believe that China does not care about the interests of other countries in its foreign policy. A median of 57 percent says China interferes in the affairs of other nations a great deal or a fair amount.
Interestingly, India, which shares a long border with China and has had bloody conflicts with it, is the only middle-income country having an unfavorable view of its neighbor. Other middle-income countries like Kenya, Mexico, and Nigeria—in faraway continents like South America and Africa—give China a positive rating.
“Across all 24 countries surveyed, however, there is more agreement about China’s technology. A median of 69 percent describes China’s technological achievements as the best or above average relative to other wealthy nations, with similar shares in high- and middle-income countries. A median of 54 percent also see China’s military as among the best in the world,” the survey pointed out.
The PRC surveyed 24 countries from February 20 to May 22, 2023, and found
71 percent of the 30,000 respondents think China does not contribute to global peace and stability.
