Global perceptions of US fall below China, survey says

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Global perceptions of the United States have deteriorated across the world over the past year and are now worse than views of China, according to an annual study of perceptions of democracy published on Monday.

The survey did not go into details on the criteria used, but the Alliance of Democracies Foundation which commissioned it says its aim is to defend and advance democratic values.

When asked why perceptions of the U.S. had slipped, Alliance founder and former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said: "President Trump has triggered a trade war, scolded Ukraine's president in the Oval Office, left allies feeling vulnerable and enemies emboldened."

"It's no surprise that opinions have slipped even among people like me who spent their lives admiring the United States and what it stood for," he added.

Trump has said he is pushing for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine and on Thursday called for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire between the two countries.

He has also said that tariffs are defending the U.S. economy against what his administration sees as unfair trade conditions.

The conclusions in the Democracy Perception Index survey, conducted between April 9 and 23 with polling firm Nira Data, were based on more than 111,000 respondents worldwide, the Alliance said.

The perception of Trump was negative in 82 of the 100 countries surveyed, higher than Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who were viewed negatively in 61 and 44 countries, respectively.

The survey also ranked the perception of countries from -100% to +100%.

The net perception rating of the United States fell to -5% from +22% last year, indicating a greater number of respondents with a negative view of the country compared with those with a positive view.

The share of countries with a positive image of the U.S. dropped to 45% from 76% last year, the survey showed.

For China, the net perception rose to +14% this year from +5% last year, the survey found.

The report was published ahead of the Copenhagen Democracy Summit, which takes place on May 13-14.

(Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; Editing by Andrew Heavens)