Coronavirus: Only 4 of 53 countries say US has dealt with pandemic better than China

Opinion of US global influence has declined amid criticism of its response to Covid-19

A graffiti mural of Donald Trump and Xi Jinping amid increased tension between China and the US over Covid-19 (AFP/Getty)

China has handled the coronavirus pandemic much better than the US, according to a survey of more than 120,000 people in 53 countries around the world.

Only four of those nations – Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and the US itself – rated the American response more positively than China’s, the poll found.

Overall more than 60 per cent of people surveyed thought China had responded well to the pandemic, compared to only a third who considered the US response had been effective.

And in another blow for the global standing of the US under Donald Trump, the world’s perception of American influence has declined in most countries since 2019.

The fall is particularly obvious in China, which has become most critical with a net opinion of -47 per cent, compared to -5 per cent last year.

Only a third of Europeans believe the US has a positive influence in the world.

The survey by German polling data firm Dalia Research for the Alliance of Democracies Foundation was published in the Democracy Perception Index ahead of the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on 18 June.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and two of his predecessors, Madeleine Albright and John Kerry, are due to speak at the virtual meeting, which will see leaders from politics, business and civil society discuss US global leadership and the 2002 elections.

It will also focus on “defending democracy during pandemic times”, after the worldwide spread of Covid-19 saw many countries impose restrictions on movement upon their populations.

“Covid-19 is also a litmus test for democracy,” said Anders Fogh Rasmussen, chairman of the Alliance of Democracies Foundation and a former NATO secretary general.

“It should act as a wake up call to democratic leaders that people want more democracy and freedom after COVID-19,” he added.

Globally, 55 per cent of those surveyed said their governments had brought in the “right amount” of restrictions on movement, with 17 per cent saying “too much” and 28 per cent “not enough”.

However there was wide variation between countries, with more than 70 per cent of those in Vietnam, Taiwan and Singapore approving of the restrictions.

Latin American such as Brazil and Chile were the most critical, with over 60 per cent feel saying their government has “not done enough” to limit movement to stop the spread of Covid-19.

Meanwhile middle eastern countries including Saudi Arabia, and Egypt tended to believe their governments had done “too much”.

In the UK, 58 per cent of people surveyed thought the government had responded well to the pandemic – better than Russia (54 per cent), the US (53) and Brazil (34) but far below China (95), Greece (89) and Ireland (87).

However just under half of the UK (46 per cent) said the restrictions imposed were “not enough”, with seven per cent saying they were “too much”.

More than half (55 per cent) disagreed with the statement that the UK government had done too much to limit people’s freedom during the coronavirus crisis.