According to the latest poll published by The Economist on September 30, attitudes towards China in Latin American countries have been improving over the past two years.
The results of the Latinobarómetro survey conducted by The Economist show that positive perception of China has increased in 15 out of 17 surveyed Latin American countries. These include the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Ecuador, Peru, Guatemala, Colombia, Bolivia, Panama, Paraguay, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Argentina, and Uruguay.
Only Panama and Ecuador showed a slight decrease in favorable attitude towards China.
The poll also revealed that during the same period, positive views of the United States declined in 15 out of 17 surveyed countries.
The Economist noted that for the first time in this historically pro-American region, more Latin Americans consider China's influence more positive than the United States' influence.
The journal links the decrease in sympathy for the US in Latin America partly to the more confrontational approach of US President Donald Trump toward the region, which, according to the US, should be under its dominance. Furthermore, the poll showed that nearly two-thirds of respondents disapprove of Donald Trump's methods of conducting international relations.
These results generally align with data from a Pew Research Center survey conducted in July, which found that in 27 out of 36 surveyed countries and regions, people held a more positive opinion of China than of the United States.
Since 2023, the gap between positive attitudes towards China and the US in these countries has steadily narrowed before changing in the 2026 poll. The median share of respondents with a positive view of China was 46%, while for the United States, this figure reached 36%.