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According to the results of a Gallup poll in 2025, the global approval rating of China’s leadership was a median of 36 per cent while the US garnered 31 per cent, the third time China has overtaken the US in the poll which asks people in over 130 countries to rate the leadership of the four leading economic or military powers – the United States, China, Russia and Germany.

Meanwhile, a survey conducted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the Carter Centre shows that 90 per cent of Chinese respondents favour China playing an active role in international affairs.

A poll of 25,949 respondents across 21 countries conducted in November 2025 for the European Council of Foreign Relations and Oxford University’s Europe in a Changing World research project found more people in South Africa, the US and 10 European countries saw China as an ally or a necessary partner than those who saw it as an adversary or rival.

China’s engagement in the global arena of politics, business and culture is low profile. Beijing is dedicated to brokering peace deals between countries at war through diplomacy, admonition and mediation. Through efforts such as the “Belt and Road Initiative”, which subtly ameliorates the economic conditions of developing countries, China is building a “community with a shared future for mankind”. Many of these countries used to be the colonies and protectorates of the Western powers, which had exploited their natural and human resources.

China’s position is further strengthened by the role it is playing in the US and Israel’s war against Iran by virtue of its resourceful energy and foreign policy. China has not been too badly affected by the shortage of crude oil because Beijing is well prepared for imminent energy crises through various channels, such as sufficient oil reserves, renewable energy and multiple oil suppliers.

China has taken a neutral stance in the Middle East wars and encourages a diplomatic dialogue to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Beijing, which has maintained good foreign relations with Gulf states, should be vested with the power to monitor a ceasefire and help Iran rebuild its infrastructure after the war.