Which nation is worse??

Recently, I noticed two interesting articles on China, Russia, and USA:

• Axios, 2 June 2025: Exclusive: China’s global favorability rising, views of the U.S. turn negative
• NYT, 9 June 2025: A secret document reveals Russian worries about China

Europe is not a nation but a semi-federation of 27 independent nations (i.e. the EU-27) and does therefore not meet my criteria for this blog.

Perhaps, my answer relates to a nation’s predictability, or our expectations. In that case, Russia and USA are predictable while China is like a black-box.

“In science, computing, and engineering, a black box is a system which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs (or transfer characteristics), without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is “opaque” (black). The term can be used to refer to many inner workings, such as those of a transistor, an engine, an algorithm, the human brain, or an institution or government.”

Source: Wikipedia

Interestingly, predictable nations, like Russia and USA, both do not trust China.

I suppose because Chinese deeds are “lacking”, its words are restricted especially abroad, and its intentions are (too) opaque.

Russian deeds are clear (eg, shooting of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, various invasions in neighbouring countries). Russian words are often lies and usually rooted in reverse psychology. Hence, the true meaning of Russian words is (often) the opposite of what is being said.

American words are (too) abundant and its deeds as well as intentions are about America First.

Nevertheless, the net favorability of the U.S. is decreasing while China is increasing. Early 2025, China has even surpassed USA in net favorability. See the Axios diagram below.

In my view, the Axios diagram above shows an emotional rather than a rational response to the question in my blog’s title: Which nation is worse??

Why?? Blame Trump.

NYT article: A secret document reveals Russian worries about China

By: Natasha Frost

Date: 9 June 2025

In public, Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, has described his country’s friendship with China as unshakable. But a unit in Russia’s domestic security agency, the F.S.B., calls China “the enemy.”

An internal F.S.B. document obtained by The Times shows that Russian intelligence officers are deeply suspicious of China and views the country as a security threat. The officers say that Beijing is trying to recruit Russian spies and get its hands on sensitive military technology.

According to the document, the officers believe that China is spying on Russia’s operations in Ukraine to learn about Western weapons and warfare. They have warned that Chinese agents are using mining firms and research centers as cover for spying in the Arctic. Here’s how The Times got the document.

WeChat: Russian agents are collecting data from the Chinese messaging app to track people who might be in contact with Chinese spies, the document shows.”

Sources:

• NYT, 9 June 2025: A secret document reveals Russian worries about China
• Axios, 2 June 2025: Exclusive: China’s global favorability rising, views of the U.S. turn negative