China has dethroned the US to become the top alignment choice for Southeast Asians as Washington loses ground on a range of key issues from regional economic engagement to the Israel-Hamas War, according to a new survey.
A survey of 1,994 Southeast Asians by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute published Tuesday shows China’s popularity in a head-to-head race with the US climbing from 38.9% last year to 50.5% in 2024. Among individual nations, Beijing garnered some three out of four votes in Muslim-majority Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.