Ordinary citizens and residents across MENA tend to have different perspectives on China's image in the region. Some are positive, while others are negative, and the general public's perception is often different than that of the elites. To attempt to capture such varying perspectives, we discuss the general public's opinion on China on a larger scale while employing the proper scientific techniques. The findings on the general public's opinion on China come from nine nationally representative public opinion surveys conducted in MENA by Arab Barometer from 2021-2022 – including nearly 23,00 interviews.

In this podcast's episode, we are joined by Michael Robbins, Director and Co-Principal Investigator of Arab Barometer, to discuss the region's perception of China based on the Arab Barometer's surveys, and the different perspectives of the general public versus the elite—as the latter tends to be more favorable toward Beijing. Arab Barometer is a nonpartisan research network that provides insight into the social, political, and economic attitudes and values of ordinary citizens across the Arab world. In the show, Michael also explains the Arab Barometer, its purpose, and how they conduct surveys and collect data.

The data mentioned in this episode is primarily based on the Arab Barometer's report, Public Views of the U.S.-China Competition in MENA, by Michael Robbins, Director and Co-Principal Investigator of Arab Barometer. The report concludes that China remains more popular than the US in MENA, but the gap may be shrinking as Beijing's focus on economic engagement does not seem to be winning hearts and minds. China's greater popularity may simply be due to the US unpopularity.