In April 2025, Active Group, in collaboration with the Experts Club think tank, conducted a survey of Ukrainians’ attitudes towards the People’s Republic of China. The results show a significant level of distrust, a small proportion of sympathy, and a high percentage of neutral attitudes.
According to the survey, 42.8% of Ukrainians have a negative attitude toward China. In particular, 35.5% have a mostly negative attitude, and 7.3% have a completely negative attitude. China is viewed positively by 19.6% of respondents, with 15.9% expressing a mostly positive attitude and 3.7% completely positive. A neutral position is held by 34.2% of those surveyed, while another 3.4% were unable to answer.
“China is perceived by Ukrainian society in an ambiguous way. On the one hand, it is an economic power and a potential partner, but on the other hand, Beijing’s vague position on Russia’s war against Ukraine is causing serious concern,” said Alexander Pozniy, co-founder of Active Group.
In turn, the candidate of economic sciences and founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center emphasized that the status of a major trading partner remains secondary compared to the political and moral position on the war.
“It is particularly interesting that even Ukraine’s economically important partners, such as China (its largest trading partner), receive low support ratings among Ukrainians. This indicates that Ukrainian society values moral support above real trade and does not recognize “neutrality” if it is not accompanied by humanitarian gestures,” added Maxim Urakin.
Thus, Ukrainians’ attitude toward China remains rather negative: criticism and distrust prevail, although one in five still has a positive opinion, and one-third remain undecided.
The presentation of the study is available at the link.
ACTIVE GROUP, DIPLOMACY, EXPERTS CLUB, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, URAKIN
