In terms of political parties, Republicans were more likely than Democrats to express confidence in Netanyahu.
Among concerns that participants of the poll expressed toward China was the country's partnership with Russia and China’s policies on human rights.
The Pew poll comes as the US government filed a bid on Monday for an emergency stay of a Texas federal judge’s ruling that suspended approval of the abortion pill mifepristone.
The pessimism could be a result of low trust Americans have in the current political leadership - as just 37% of Americans approve of their president's job performance.
In a Pew study published Wednesday, Jews were the only group that received a net positive rating across all groups surveyed.