The declining favorability is present in just about all Western and nearby Asian nations. I don't think China has done things that much differently, so it's likely that those countries are increasingly finding China as a threat, rather than just a land of cheap labor where they can make money with.
BTW, check out some of the other pages in the report, there are some pretty interesting figures pertaining to China/****/India, like:
Indians, for some reason, are the most likely to think that the U.S. considers their interests when the U.S. makes decisions:
Chinese optimism for its country's direction is absolutely unmatched. I'm sure government propaganda helped a lot too, though the Russians don't share the same trait. As I've always argued, the Chinese people don't care that much about political freedom, it's all about money...:
...and the money is good(at least the Chinese ppl think so):
India and China embrace capitalism/trading the most of all countries, and why not? Both are benefiting aplenty:
China's perception as the leading economic power is growing by leaps and bounds....except ironically in China, India, and Pakistan. And Argentina too, but nobody cares about them. Also of interest is the fact that of the relevant countries, India by far has the lowest perception of China's economy:
Pakistanis and Turks are the staunches opponents of suicide bombings of the Muslim countries:
Surprisingly, the Chinese people are the most willing to do something about environmental problems. The Chinese government doesn't seem like they think so:
Again, surprisingly, Indians, of all people, are the most open to the use of force. Kind of weird given the pacifist nature of the Hindu religion:
