Results of the joint study by Active Group and Experts Club on Ukrainians' attitudes toward the countries of East Asia and the Middle East

In the Southeast Asia region, Ukrainians' attitude remains most positive toward Japan and South Korea. This is shown by the results of a joint study by the analytical center Experts Club and the research company Active Group, presented at a press conference at the “Interfax-Ukraine” agency on Thursday.

“Our study showed that in East Asia, Ukrainians most strongly support Japan and South Korea. The attitude toward these countries largely depends on their support for Ukraine since the start of the war. In the Caucasus region, the positive attitude toward Georgia remains. Also, more than 50% of Ukrainians view Kazakhstan positively. The lowest level of support recorded in the study was toward countries such as the DPRK, Syria and Iraq,” – said Oleksandr Pozniy, director of the research company Active Group.

Also, according to the expert, the evidently negative attitude of Ukrainians toward the PRC is quite telling.

“4% of citizens have a positive attitude toward China, 16.7% a mostly positive one, 58.8% a negative one, and another 20% are undecided. China's position toward Ukraine is currently not entirely clear-cut, and that is reflected in Ukrainians' attitude,” – Pozniy stressed.

For his part, Maksym Urakin, founder of the analytical center Experts Club and deputy director of the “Interfax-Ukraine” news agency, presented an analysis of Ukraine's foreign trade with a number of Asian countries, compiled on the basis of State Customs Service data for 2023.

“The largest market for Ukrainian goods in Asia is China — more than 2 billion dollars. India is in second place, followed by Kazakhstan, Georgia, Iraq and Indonesia. As for imports, the largest importer to Ukraine is also China — more than 10 billion dollars. Next come India, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. In terms of total trade volume between Ukraine and these countries, China also leads — almost 13 billion dollars. India is in second place with 2.5 billion, followed by Japan with almost a billion,” – Urakin said.

According to him, the analysis of economic data points to significant trade ties between Ukraine and the countries of the Middle East and East Asia. China remains one of our country's largest trading partners in both exports and imports.

“The problem of the trade deficit remains, since Ukraine spends significant funds on imports while earning little from exports. This is a real problem. For 2023, Ukraine's trade deficit with all countries amounts to more than 27 billion dollars. The deficit with China is 8 billion dollars. Among the countries presented today, we see a positive balance only with Iraq — almost 200 million dollars in Ukraine's favor, Georgia — 100 million and Armenia — 54 million,” – Urakin added.

The head of the Ukrainian-Arab Business Council and member of the Council of National Communities of Ukraine, Dr. Emad Abu Alrub, stressed that the importance of Ukraine's relations with the countries of Asia and the Arab world cannot be overestimated, and that Ukraine is currently taking important steps to develop these relations.

“Ukraine has significant opportunities in the markets of Arab countries, which together have a population of more than 550 million. Arab countries are a permanent market for our goods. After 2014, new markets opened up for our country, especially in Asia. The Ukrainian-Arab Business Council is actively working to develop these relations. We need to create a strategic plan to improve relations at the level of the economy, politics and culture. We have significant chances of success, but better communication and marketing are needed,” – Dr. Abu Alrub stressed.

He also added that Saudi Arabia is interested in cooperation with Ukraine through investment not only in trade, but also in agriculture, technology and other projects. Other interesting countries are the UAE, Qatar and Egypt. All of them also have great potential for investment in Ukraine.

In conclusion, Maksym Urakin called on the embassies of foreign countries to establish communication with Ukrainian society more actively.

“If possible, please provide journalists with information about what you are doing here and how you help in the humanitarian sphere. Through these ties we will deepen our cooperation, because how Ukrainian citizens view your countries also depends on your work,” – he summed up.