European and Canadian respondents in a new Politico-Public First poll said they are increasingly open to closer ties with China as confidence in the United States under President Donald Trump has weakened.
The finding points to a fresh strain inside the Western alliance amid competition over trade, security, and technology.
The survey, conducted Feb. 6-9 among 10,289 adults online in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, found broad support in those four allied countries for closer ties with China and rising doubt that Washington remains the more dependable partner.
Politico said the sample included at least 2,000 respondents in each country, weighted by age, gender, and geography, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points for each country.
The poll also found many respondents believe China is ahead in advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, and believe it is harder to reduce reliance on China than on the United States.
As presented in the Politico report, the shift appears to be driven less by broad enthusiasm for Beijing than by frustration with Washington.
Most respondents in Canada and Germany said moving closer to China reflects the United States becoming less dependable, not China becoming more reliable.
Politico reported that many in France and the U.K. said the same.
Other polling complicates any claim of a full pro-China turn.
Pew Research Center reported in July 2025 that across 24 countries, a median 49% viewed the United States favorably, compared with 37% for China.
In Canada, Pew found both countries tied at 34% favorable, suggesting dissatisfaction with Washington did not automatically translate into broad support for Beijing.
Pew's 24-country comparison drew on nationally representative surveys of 28,333 adults conducted Jan. 8-April 26, 2025, with phone surveys in Canada, France, Germany, and the U.K. The margin of error was not available.
Gallup found a similar pattern inside NATO.
Its Jan. 15, 2026, report said median approval of U.S. leadership across 31 alliance countries fell to 21% in 2025, while China's rose to 22%.
But Gallup also said Washington's losses did not directly translate into major Chinese gains in most countries.
Gallup said its findings came from nationally representative, probability-based telephone surveys of about 1,000 adults age 15 and older in each country from March 27 to Oct. 30, 2025, with margins of sampling error of +/- 3.4 to 5.4 percentage points.
Taken together, the polling suggests a narrower but still significant shift.
The public sentiment in U.S. allied countries appears to be losing confidence in Washington faster than they are embracing Beijing.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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