According to a poll of regional youth, more young Arabs consider China as an ally of their nations than the US.
According to CNN, the United States ranks seventh among friendly nations, behind only China, which ranks second in the Arab Youth Survey done by Dubai-based public relations firm ASDA’A BCW.
The findings reveal that as Beijing grows its influence in the area, support for China has progressively increased over time.
However, they also show that, as much as Arabs want the US to play a lower role in the Middle East, many believe the superpower will remain the most powerful actor, according to CNN.
Eighty percent of respondents regard China to be an ally, while 72% consider the United States to be one.
In contrast, other Arab nations dominated the top five countries viewed as allies in the 2018 version of the study, with the exception of Russia, which rated fourth. China and the United States were not among the top five.
The United States was placed second in the 2015 report.
The 15th edition of the study includes face-to-face interviews with 3,600 Arabs aged 18 to 24 in 53 locations across 18 Arab nations, revealing developing emotions driven by a changing political landscape in the region, according to CNN.
While the United States remains popular, other countries have surpassed it in rankings throughout the years. This year, Turkey was discovered to be the country that most young Arabs regarded an ally, with 82%.
Sixty-one percent of those questioned support US withdrawal from the Middle East, with North Africa and the Levant showing the strongest support.
Arab governments, particularly those in the Gulf, have been dissatisfied with what they perceive to be the United governments’ dwindling interest in the area, and have begun to design their own foreign policy in recent years.
According to CNN, they have refused to take sides in the Ukraine crisis and have grown closer to China, saying that the world is going towards multipolarity.
