More than 40 per cent of Americans now label China as an enemy, up from a quarter two years ago and reaching the highest level in five years, according to an annual Pew Research Center survey released Wednesday.
Half of Americans think of China as a competitor, and only 6 per cent consider the country a partner, according to the report. The findings come as the Biden administration is seeking to stabilise US-China relations to avoid miscalculations that could result in clashes, while still trying to counter the world’s second-largest economy on issues from Russia’s war in Ukraine to Taiwan and human rights.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have both recently visited China in the administration’s latest effort to responsibly manage the competition with Beijing.
Despite those overtures, President Joe Biden has been competing with former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee in November’s election, on being tough on China.
The Pew report, which is drawn from an April 1-7 survey of a sample of 3,600 US adults, found that roughly half of Americans think limiting China’s power and influence should be a top US foreign policy priority. Only 8 per cent don’t think it should be a priority at all.
For the fifth year in a row, about eight in 10 Americans report an unfavourable view of China, the Pew report said.
Today, 81 pe cent of US adults see the country unfavourably, including 43 per cent who hold a very unfavourable opinion. Chinese President Xi Jinping receives similarly negative ratings, the report said.
About eight in 10 Americans say they have little or no confidence in Xi to do the right thing regarding world affairs. About 10 per cent said they have never heard of him.
American attitudes toward China have turned largely critical after the US launched a trade war against China in 2018 and since the emergence of Covid-19, which was first reported in China.
