In recent months , talks about trade and tariffs have dominated the U.S.-China relationship, with Washington aiming at a more “fair” deal and further negotiation with its global rival. This came after a long series of discussions about the importance of China’s growing power and America’s response to issues touching on business, technology and the military. Yet for as much as politicians seem to be interested in what the world’s most populous country is doing these days, young Americans are not as concerned about China’s growing power.
A new survey released on Tuesday by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center shows fewer Americans are viewing China favorably today than a year ago. But younger people in the U.S. tend to view the Asian giant more positively than older Americans.
The research, conducted from May 14 to June 15 among 1,500 Americans, revealed that around half of the 18- to 29-year-olds have a favorable view of China, while only 37 percent of people ages 30 to 49 express the same view. Those 50 or older are even less excited about China, at 34 percent.
The results are not that surprising, say experts, as younger people around the world seem to be less anxious about international competition.
“We actually see around the world that young people are more positive (toward) other countries’ foreign power,” says Jacob Poushter, a senior researcher at Pew. “It seems the younger generation is just generally more favorable toward foreign powers than are the older generations.”
Overall, 38 percent of Americans view China in a favorable way, down 6 percentage points from the levels reported in 2017. This is also expected, says Poushter, since Americans’ attitudes toward China have always fluctuated, falling during times of economic downturns or when U.S. presidential administrations have shown a more confrontational attitude toward Beijing. This happened at the end of 2012, when President Barack Obama, who had aligned his foreign policy with a “pivot to Asia,” pushed for even more economic and military measures in the region. The same Pew survey showed then that the majority of Americans (52 percent) had a negative view on China.
Americans also seem more concerned about China’s growing economy rather than its military strength. Around 60 percent fear the high levels of U.S. debt owned by Beijing may cause problems. They also worry about the loss of American jobs to the Chinese labor market, as well as the trade deficit. Technology, climate and human rights issues are on America’s list of concerns as well, with more than half of those polled saying they worry about cyberattacks and the country’s impact on global impact on the environment.
Yet, “worries about economic problems are less common now than in 2012, when these questions were originally asked,” according to the report. “Concerns about cyberattacks have continued to increase modestly over the past six years.”
Differences are also reported among political parties, with Republicans and Republican-leaning independents saying they are more concerned about economic issues tied to China, such as debt, the labor market and trade, while their Democratic counterparts seem more worried about China’s impact on the climate. One explanation for such discrepancies is that parties tend to approach the U.S.-China relationship differently and focus on different issues.
“This is what political parties talk about when they talk about China and that is the variation that you see,” Poushter says. “In the past it was typically the case that Democrats were more positive on China than Republicans, but that gap has actually disappeared on the overall favorability of China. The views on China are actually not that divided this year between Republicans and Democrats.”
The results of the Pew study follow a survey released earlier this year that shows Americans view China as the world’s most powerful country. The 2018 Best Countries survey included 1,670 people in the U.S. questioned over a series of topics about 80 nations. In that survey, Americans ranked China as the world’s most economically influential country, but last among the 80 nations on caring about human rights.
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Fewer Americans Favorably View China, According to Pew Report originally appeared on usnews.com
