Survey: Americans have an increasingly negative view of China

An overwhelming majority of Americans hold negative views of China and view Beijing’s ties with Moscow and tensions over Taiwan as “serious” problems for the United States, according to a new poll.

He survey by the Pew Research Center found that 83% of Americans hold negative views of China, up from 47% in 2017. At the time, 44% of Americans held positive views of China, but now only 14% do. .

Older Americans are the most likely to say they have negative views of America’s main geopolitical rival, with 60% of those 65 and older and 53% of those 50-64 holding “very strong” views. negative”.

That compares with 29% of Americans in the 18-29 age group and 37% 30-49 who hold “very negative” views. Those Americans are more likely to have “somewhat negative” views (45% and 43%).

Among all respondents, 90% say China’s ties with Russia present a “serious” problem for the United States, while 84% say the same about tensions over taiwan and 83% on China’s human rights policies.

“Concern over tensions in China’s relationship with Taiwan has also intensified, with a record proportion of Americans saying that cross-strait tensions are a very serious problem (47%),” the Pew report says.

“Such concerns about a strained China-Taiwan relationship are more common among Americans with a favorable view of Taiwan, as well as among Republicans and people 65 and older.”

bipartisanship

In spite of the growing bipartisan consensus On China in the US Congress, there is a partisan divide among ordinary citizens, according to the Pew poll: 58% of Republicans have a “very negative” view of China, compared to 34% of democrats.

But the vast majority of all voters hold at least “somewhat” negative views of China: 89% of Republicans and 81% of Democrats.

“Where the parties differ most is often the intensity of sentiment,” the Pew survey report says. “And in terms of ideology, conservative Republicans are often particularly negative toward China, even relative to more moderate and liberal Republicans.”

“Democrats and independents who lean Democratic, for example, tend to be much more willing to work with China on all of the key issues mentioned than Republicans or GOP supporters.”

Enemy or competitor?

After a year of heightened tensions between the US and China, including the former speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan in august, the spy balloon fight in august and this month’s trip to the United States by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, Americans’ understanding of their country’s relationship with Beijing has also hardened dramatically.

Americans are 10 percentage points less likely than a year ago to describe China as a “competitor” rather than an “enemy” or “partner.” That remains the majority opinion, at 52%. However, the proportion of people who say that China is an “enemy” has risen from 25% to 38%.

That has been driven mostly by Republicans, a slim majority (53%) of whom now describe China as an “enemy,” up 11 percentage points in a year, and now ahead of the 41% who prefer the term. “competitor”.

But there has also been a growth among Democrats who see China as an enemy. That turnout has grown to between 12% and 27%, even if a clear majority of Democrats (62%) say the term “competitor” is more appropriate.

Only 6% of Americans consider China a partner, Pew says.

Edited by Malcolm Foster.