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67% Americans see China’s influence & power as major threat to US, Pew survey finds

Results of Pew Research Center survey released Thursday. The survey, which was held from 21-27 March, included a sample of 3,581 US adults.

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New Delhi: Americans are increasingly seeing China as a superpower and a threat to their country, according to a survey by the US think tank Pew Research Center.

As many as 67 per cent of the respondents described China’s influence and power as a major threat — up 5 percentage points since 2020.

About 66 per cent of the respondents said China’s influence on the world stage has grown stronger in recent years, while 22 per cent felt its position is about the same and 10 per cent felt its position is growing weaker.

The survey, which was held from 21-27 March, included a sample of 3,581 US adults. The results of the survey were released Thursday.

It also found that more Americans now see China as a leading economic power. Around 43 per cent termed China the world’s top economy, and as many believed the title belonged to the US. “This marks a significant departure since 2020, when 32 per cent of Americans said China was the world’s top economy and 52 per cent named the US,” notes the survey.

The survey, which was held from 21-27 March, included a sample of 3,581 US adults. The results of the survey were released Thursday.

It found that 85 per cent of the respondents see China’s military power as a problem for the US, with 84 per cent concerned about its involvement in US politics, 82 per cent about the economic competition it posed, 78 per cent about its tensions with Taiwan, and 73 per cent about mainland China’s policies in Hong Kong.

While Americans still consider the US to be the world’s leading military power — 70 per cent said this, compared to 19 per cent for China and 9 per cent for Russia — the percentage of respondents naming China has more than doubled since 2020.

A total of 82 per cent of Americans viewed China’s policies on human rights as a problem, the survey says. Of this, 42 per cent viewed it as “very” serious — which is an 8-point decline from those who felt it to be so in 2021.

Conversely, Americans have become more concerned about the relationship between China and Taiwan.

In 2021, 28 per cent saw the tensions between China and Taiwan as “very” serious. The number has gone up to 35 per cent now.

Meanwhile, over 9 in 10 Americans (92 per cent) feel the partnership between China and Russia — especially with the ongoing Ukraine war — is a problem for the US, the survey says.

Of these, 62 per cent believe it to be a “very” serious problem, while 30 per cent feel it’s a “somewhat” serious problem.

Independently, China is seen as a superpower and “threat” to the US, but Russia is considered more of an “enemy”, the survey adds.


Also read: India, US know they need each other – after Russia war, China will be back front and centre


Russia more of an ‘enemy’ than China

The survey found that even while negative views of China have grown, Americans increasingly see Beijing as a competitor, rather than as an enemy.

According to the survey, 62 per cent identified China as a competitor and 25 per cent as an enemy, while 10 per cent saw it as a partner. In January, before the Ukraine war broke out, 54 per cent chose China as competitor, and 35 per cent said enemy.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has also brought about a shift in perspectives about Russia, with the public opinion more vehemently against the country.

In January, 49 per cent saw Moscow as a competitor and 41 per cent saw it as an enemy. In March, 24 per cent viewed it as a competitor and a whopping 70 per cent as an enemy.

(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)


Also read: US needs oil, and Iran needs end to sanctions, but they still can’t agree on nuclear deal


 

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