China’s Polling Ahead of Other Countries For Its COVID-19 Aid, But Beijing Still May Not Get the Soft Power Win It Desires

A new public opinion survey in Southeast Asia provides an indication that residents in some developing countries acknowledge China’s considerable contributions in helping to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, while still feeling ambivalent about Beijing’s motivations, according to the findings of a new poll conducted by the ASEAN Studies Centre at Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

This is one of the first major polls in the Global South that points to the larger public diplomacy challenges confronting China’s efforts to derive soft power dividends from its increasingly ambitious drive to supply developing countries with vaccines.

  • Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis.
  • Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations.
  • Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South.

China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening.

Subscribe today for unlimited access.

OR

Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More
by Eric Olander

Most Read

1
Developing Countries’ Debt Servicing Costs to China Are Significant, but Nowhere Near as Much as Other Creditors
2 Chinese Military Fans Discuss Why Indonesia Bought Rafale Instead of J-10C
3
Chinese Cargo Planes Secretly Ferrying Supplies to Iran, Claim Online Sleuths
4
Indonesia Goes Nuclear, Taps China and Russia for Modular Reactors
5 Trump’s Contradictory Iran Strategy Leaves U.S. Weaker After War’s End, Says Chinese Commentator
6
Thailand in Last-Minute U.S. Talks as 36% Tariff Looms

You Might Like

“New” Poll Reaffirms China Far Less Popular Than the U.S. as World Leader

The same week that a pan-African survey revealed that China, for the first time, outperformed the United States in overall favorability, another poll comparing the two major powers, this time by the geopolitical risk ...

Favorable Views of China, France Both Fall in 12-Nation African Survey

Opinion leaders in 12 French and Arabic speaking African countries look less favorably upon France and China, according to the findings of the third annual survey conducted by the French Council of Investors ...

China’s Infrastructure Soft Power Diplomacy in Africa

China’s approach to soft power diplomacy in Africa differs markedly from that of other major powers, namely the United States, France and the UK. While those countries rely heavily on cultural products like ...

One of China’s Most Powerful Political Leaders, Wang Yang, Meets Separately With Legislators From Brazzaville and Kinshasa

Wang Yang, a member of China’s powerful Politburo and president of the country’s rubber-stamp legislature, held separate meetings with legislative leaders from both sides of the Congo river. In Beijing, 

What is The China-Global South Project?

Independent

The China-Global South Project is passionately independent, non-partisan and does not advocate for any country, company or culture.

News

A carefully curated selection of the day’s most important China-Global South stories. Updated 24 hours a day by human editors. No bots, no algorithms.

Analysis

Diverse, often unconventional insights from scholars, analysts, journalists and a variety of stakeholders in the China-Global South discourse.

Networking

A unique professional network of China-Africa scholars, analysts, journalists and other practioners from around the world.

More about CGSP