Americans Nervous, but Overwhelmingly Favor Engagement with China

Though many are nervous about China’s economic rise, two out of three Americans favor a policy of engagement and cooperation with China. This is a central finding of a new survey commissioned by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and conducted by Knowledge Networks. Some 1,505 adults were questioned in July.

In the 1990s, researchers found that more than half of those surveyed felt that China would pose a “critical threat” to vital American interests within a decade. Only 40% of respondents in this survey felt this way. Most Americans are eager to avoid a military confrontation with China. Only one out of three (32%) supported sending U.S. forces to aid Taiwan in the event of an attack from China and fewer still (19%) believe that a China – Taiwan confrontation threatened vital U.S. interests.

Three out of four Americans surveyed expect China’s economy to surpass that of the United States. Two years ago, only 60% of those surveyed expected this. Americans are increasingly knowledgeable about U.S.-China economic relations. Nonetheless, only 40% of those surveyed knew that China loans more money (by buying U.S. Treasury notes) to the U.S. than the U.S. loans to China.

A significant number of Americans are worried about China’s economic rise. Some 42% of those surveyed saw China's eventual surpassing the U.S. in total economic output as “mostly negative,” up from 33% in 2006. This may be because more Americans (67%) now believe China engages in unfair trade practices than in 2006 (58%). Most Americans don’t feel this way about the other top five U.S. trade partners. 

Click here to download the full report (4 page pdf file, from the Chicago Council).

Other USCI reports on public opinion surveys:

Survey reports Chinese are positive about the present and optimistic about the future (July 2008)

America’s Soft Power is Still Supreme in Asia (June 2008)

Most Americans Now Have an Unfavorable Impression of China (March 2008)

Survey of American and Chinese opinion: Hope and Fear (December 2007)