Exit the dragon: China faces heat as citizens across countries increasingly view it in bad light

There is no respite for China as continues to get bad PR across the globe for what appears like an ever-growing list of reasons. China is known for its strong-arm military tactics as well as surreptitious economic maneuvers. But the end goal remains perfectly aligned with its objectives of dominance.

Not that all these things were not known before, but in times of coronavirus pandemic (that originated in China) global citizens are increasingly miffed at the red dragon.

Pew Research Center in the US surveyed citizens across 14 countries. The survey noted that majority of the surveyed people in 14 countries had unfavourable opinion of China.

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Negative views towards China reached their highest point among respondents from Britain, Australia, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, the US, South Korea, Spain and Canada.

That's not all.

Negative views reached the highest point since Pew Research Center started surveying on the topic a decade ago.

China's handling of the coronavirus outbreak within its own borders has apparently led to an increase in negative perception about China.

US President Donald Trump has pointedly kept his aim on China when it has come to talking about the global pandemic. He often refers coronavirus as the 'Chinese virus'. There are allegations that coronavirus was developed in labs in China. This gives it a colour of conspiracy.

Also Read | Around 40 nations rebuke China's human rights policies in Xinjiang, Tibet

But China is facing flak over other issues as well. There is the matter of trade war with the US. Then there are concerns about Chinese tech companies like Huawei stealing data of American and European citizens.

There is the matter of China's strong-arm tactics in the South China sea. All this and much more has galavanised global opinion against China at a level not observed before.

Even in India, China has had a bad rep, recently due to the stand-off in Ladakh. China has largely refused to call-off their troops. Rounds of dialogue are taking place with India yes, but they have not resulted in Chinese side willing to normalise situation on ground.

It may be the superpower in the making, but recent trends suggest that even China won't be able to carry its business as usual in the face of overwhelming negative opinion across the globe.