More than 40% of Americans now identify China as an enemy, an increase from two quarters ago and the most in the past five years, according to the Pew Research Center’s annual survey released Wednesday. has reached the highest standards.
The report found that half of Americans consider China a competitor, and only 6% consider the country a partner. The findings come as the Biden administration seeks to counter the world’s second-largest economy on everything from Russia’s war in Ukraine to Taiwan and human rights issues, while also trying to improve U.S.-China relations to avoid miscalculations that could lead to conflict. This was achieved while aiming for stabilization.
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently visited China as part of the administration’s latest efforts to “responsibly” manage competition with Beijing. Despite these moves, President Joe Biden is battling former President Donald Trump, who is certain to be the Republican nominee in November’s election, over his tough stance on China.
The Pew report is based on a survey of 3,600 U.S. adults conducted April 1-7, and found that about half of Americans believe the U.S. should limit China’s power and influence. It turns out that he believes this should be a top foreign policy priority. Only 8% think it should not be a priority at all.
For the fifth year in a row, about 8 in 10 Americans have a negative view of China, according to a Pew report.
U.S. and Chinese flags line the room where U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Chinese Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong at the Diaoyutai Guest House in Beijing, China, Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
“Currently, 81% of American adults view the country unfavorably, including 43% who have a very unfavorable opinion. Chinese President Xi Jinping has a similarly negative rating. ”, the report states.
About 8 in 10 Americans say they have little or no confidence that President Xi will do the right thing regarding world affairs. About 10% said they had never heard of him.
Since the United States launched a trade war against China in 2018, and since the emergence of the coronavirus disease first reported in China, the US attitude towards China has become mostly critical. The Chinese government’s human rights record, closeness with Russia, and policies toward Taiwan and Hong Kong also leave Americans with a negative view of the country, according to Pew’s previous analysis.
At the same time, the US government is openly competing with China in economic and foreign affairs.
Next, 42% of Americans say China is an enemy of the United States, the highest since 2021, when Pew began asking the question.
The percentage is much larger among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, with 59% saying China is an enemy, compared to 28% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters, Pew said.
Older Americans, conservative Republicans and those with harsh views on the U.S. economy are more critical of China and more likely to view the country as an enemy, the report said.
“Americans also feel that if they believe that China’s influence in the world has increased in recent years or if they believe that China has significant influence on the U.S. economy, “We look at China more negatively.”
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“Even pessimism about the U.S. economy is related to how Americans evaluate China. People who think the U.S. economy is in bad shape are likely to view China unfavorably and see it as an enemy. It’s highly sexual,” he added.
Pew said a nationally representative sample of 3,600 respondents completed the online survey, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.
