17 June, 2024
Asian Barometer 2024: Trends in Swedish views of China, India, and Japan
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The Asian Barometer 2024 follows up on the first report published in 2022, drawing on new data from the latest round of the SOM public opinion survey which was conducted in the autumn of 2023. This allows comparison of responses between the two surveys and examination of how Swedish public opinion about China, India, and Japan has developed over time. Overall, there was little change in the Swedish public’s responses to question about the three Asian countries, indicating that the views identified in the 2022 barometer survey largely still stand.
Swedish public opinion about China continued to be very negative, with most respondents disagreeing that it was a country which respected democratic rights and acted responsibly internationally. The majority of respondents continued be averse to more Swedish cooperation with China and to more investment from the country. Views about India showed some of the biggest changes. There was an increase in the proportion of respondents who agreed that India had a developed economy and that it will be an important global actor in the future. Views about its respect for democratic rights and international responsibility, however, became slightly more negative. Swedish public opinion about Japan, which was found to be overwhelmingly positive in the 2022 barometer, showed very little change. This indicates that Swedes’ views about Japan are relatively established.
