In March 2011, a majority of Americans (53%) said strengthening relations with China was more important, while 40% favored getting tougher with China on economic policy. That changed in 2012 — a year in which U.S.-China trade became an issue in the presidential campaign. In our October 2012 survey, 49% prioritized getting tougher with China, while 42% said it was more important to strengthen relations.

Republicans were the strongest advocates of a get-tough policy with 65% favoring that course. In comparison, a majority of Democrats (53%) said the priority should be strengthening relations compared with 39% who wanted to get tougher with China. Independents were divided: 47% favored a get-tough approach while 44% said it was more important to work on building stronger relations.

The shifting views of U.S.-China relations came against a backdrop in which perceptions of China’s rising economic power continued to grow around the world.

Looking at 14 countries in spring 2012 that are surveyed regularly by the Pew Research Center, a median of 42% said they believed China was the world’s leading economic power compared with 36% who said it was the U.S. Before the onset of the 2008 financial crisis, 45% had named the U.S. as the top economic power while just 22% said China.

Americans are more concerned about China’s economic strength than about its military strength.

About two-thirds of Americans distrust China and see it as a competitor.

At the same time, the Chinese public has taken a dimmer view of the U.S.

The top three economic concerns that Americans have about China are the large amount of U.S. debt that it holds, the loss of jobs to China and the trade deficit.

Some U.S. media companies recently said they were targeted by Chinese hackers. While the issue of cyber attacks from China was a lesser concern among the general public, it rated higher on the list of foreign affairs experts in the survey.

There are partisan differences among the U.S. public over which issues with China are of the most concern.

Republicans are more concerned than Democrats about economic issues related to China, while Democrats and independents are more likely than Republicans to say China’s impact on the global environment is a major problem.

Read more Pew Research reports on China, including these reports:

U.S. Public, Experts Differ on China Policies

Public Favors Tough U.S. Stance on Iran, China

Browse our other key data points on these topics: 

Overview | Economy | Middle Class | Foreign Policy | Gun Control | U.S.-Middle East Relations | Immigration | Climate Change | Gay Marriage | Debt and Deficit | Iran | U.S. Catholics

With China a key foreign policy issue in the 2012 presidential contest, and both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney promising to “get tough” with the Asian power, the American public expresses both positive and negative views about China and U.S. policy towards it.

Nearly two-thirds describe relations between the U.S. and China as good, and most consider China a competitor rather than an enemy. At the same time, majorities say the U.S. cannot trust China and that the Asian nation does not consider the interests of other countries when making foreign policy decisions. When it comes to dealing with China, as many say being tough with China on economic issues is a very important priority for the U.S. as say the same about building a strong bilateral relationship.

Despite generally positive assessments of U.S.-China relations, Americans are clearly concerned about China’s growing economic strength and its impact on the United States. Most consider the large amount of American debt held by China, the loss of U.S. jobs to China and the U.S. trade deficit with China to be very serious problems, and about half say the Asian nation’s emergence as a world power poses a major threat to America.

Q: How do Americans view China?

A: On balance, Americans rate China favorably. A survey conducted in March and April 2011 by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project found that 51% expressed a positive opinion of China, while 36% offered a negative rating.  But Americans have real concerns about China’s growing economic might — 53% said China’s economic growth is bad for the U.S.  When it comes to the countries that Americans see posing the most danger to the U.S., 22% cited China in a January 2012 poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, about the same as did so in 2011 (Iran was at the top of the list at 28%).

Q: This meeting is coming at a time when China has been trying to assert its economic and political influence in the world arena. What does your research say about global views of China and the United States?

A: Views about the global balance of power have shifted over the last few years — increasingly, people in many parts of the world believe China will supplant the United States as the dominant superpower. Our spring 2011 survey found that, in 15 of 22 nations, majorities or pluralities say China either will replace or already has replaced the U.S. as the world’s leading power. This view was especially widespread in Western Europe, where at least six-in-ten in France, Spain, Britain and Germany say China has or will overtake the U.S. Majorities in Pakistan, the Palestinian territories, Mexico and China itself also hold this opinion.

Q: What is driving this trend?

A: Some of this reflects the fact that many see China surpassing the U.S. economically. This is especially the case in Western Europe, where the percentage naming China as the world’s top economic power has increased by double digits in Spain, Germany, Britain and France since 2009. However, in other parts of the world, the U.S. is still considered the economic leader — for example, more than six-in-ten in Turkey, Mexico and Kenya name the U.S. as the world’s dominant economic power. And notably, by an almost 2-to-1 margin, the Chinese still place the U.S. in the top spot.

Q: Last November, President Obama elicited a strong response from China when he announced plans to deploy 2,500 Marines in Australia to, in his words, ensure that “as a Pacific nation, the United States will play a larger and long-term role in shaping this region and its future.” How do other countries view the U.S.-China competition when it comes to military and strategic issues?

A: Overall, there is little enthusiasm for the prospect of China equaling the U.S. militarily. The prevailing view in Japan and India is that it would not be in their country’s interest if China were to equal the U.S. militarily. Majorities across Western Europe and in Israel share this opinion, as do most of those surveyed in Turkey. However, in the other predominantly Muslim nations polled, views are quite different — for instance, majorities in Pakistan, Jordan and the Palestinian territories would welcome military parity between China and the U.S.

Q: How do the images of both countries measure up against each other?

A: Across the 23 nations we surveyed, the U.S. generally receives more favorable marks than China: the median percentage rating China favorably is 52%, eight points lower than the median percentage offering a positive assessment of the U.S.

In most regions of the world, opinion of the United States continues to be more favorable than it was in the Bush years, but U.S. image now faces a new challenge: doubts about America’s superpower status. In 15 of 22 nations, the balance of opinion is that China either will replace or already has replaced the United States as the world’s leading superpower. This view is especially widespread in Western Europe, where at least six-in-ten in France (72%), Spain (67%), Britain (65%) and Germany (61%) see China overtaking the U.S.

Majorities in Pakistan, the Palestinian territories, Mexico and China itself also foresee China supplanting the U.S. as the world’s dominant power. In most countries for which there are trends, the view that China will overtake the U.S. has increased substantially over the past two years, including by 10 or more percentage points in Spain, France, Pakistan, Britain, Jordan, Israel, Poland and Germany. Among Americans, the percentage saying that China will eventually overshadow or has already overshadowed the U.S. has increased from 33% in 2009 to 46% in 2011.

At least some of this changed view of the global balance of power may reflect the fact that the U.S. is increasingly seen as trailing China economically. This is especially the case in Western Europe, where the percentage naming China as the top economic power has increased by double digits in Spain, Germany, Britain and France since 2009.

In other parts of the globe, fewer are convinced that China is the world’s leading economic power. Majorities or pluralities in Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America still name the U.S. as the world’s dominant economic power. In the Middle East, Palestinians and Israelis agree that America continues to sit atop the global economy, while in Jordan and Lebanon more see China in this role. Notably, by an almost 2-to-1 margin the Chinese still believe the U.S. is the world’s dominant economic power.

These are among the key findings from a survey by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project, conducted March 18 to May 15.¹ The survey also finds that, in the U.S., France, Germany, Spain and Japan, those who see China as the world’s leading economic power believe this is a bad thing. By contrast, those who name the U.S. tend to think it is good that America is still the top global economy. In developing countries those who believe China has already overtaken the U.S. economically generally view this as a positive development. Meanwhile, in China, those who believe the U.S. is still the world’s leading economy tend to see this as a negative.

Compared with reaction to China’s economic rise, global opinion is more consistently negative when it comes to the prospect of China equaling the U.S. militarily. Besides the Chinese themselves, only in Pakistan, Jordan, the Palestinian territories and Kenya do majorities see an upside to China matching the U.S. in terms of military power. Meanwhile, the prevailing view in Japan and India is that it would not be in their country’s interest if China were to equal the U.S. militarily; majorities across Western and Eastern Europe, and in Turkey and Israel, share this view.

U.S. Image Largely Favorable

Despite the view in many countries that China either has or will surpass the U.S. as the leading superpower, opinion of America remains favorable, on balance. The median percentage offering a positive assessment of the U.S. is 60% among the 23 countries surveyed. The U.S. receives high marks in Western Europe, where at least six-in-ten in France, Spain, Germany and Britain rate the U.S. positively. Opinion of the U.S. is also consistently favorable across Eastern Europe, as well as in Japan, Kenya, Israel, Brazil and Mexico.

As in years past, U.S. image continues to suffer among predominantly Muslim countries, with the exception of Indonesia, where a majority expresses positive views of the U.S. One-in-five or fewer in Egypt, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Pakistan and Turkey view America favorably. In Lebanon, opinion of the U.S. is split, reflecting a religious and sectarian divide; the country’s Shia community has overwhelmingly negative views of America, while Lebanese Sunnis and Christians are more positive.

Views of the U.S. in the Muslim world reflect, at least in part, opposition to the war in Afghanistan and U.S. efforts to fight terrorism. Moreover, few in predominantly Muslim countries say the U.S. takes a multilateral approach to foreign policy. Fewer than a quarter in Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Pakistan and Turkey say the U.S. takes the interests of countries like theirs into account when making foreign policy decisions.

In Western Europe, fewer than half in Britain (40%), France (32%) and Spain (19%) say the U.S. takes the interests of other countries into account when making foreign policy decisions. Only in Germany does a majority feel otherwise. In Eastern Europe, a third or less believe America acts multilaterally.

Interestingly, a majority of Chinese (57%) credit America with considering the interests of other nations, although last year more (76%) held this view. Elsewhere, majorities in Israel, India, Japan, Brazil and Kenya describe the U.S. as multilateral in its approach to foreign policy.

Majorities or pluralities in nearly every country surveyed say the U.S. and NATO should remove their troops from Afghanistan as soon as possible; the only exceptions are Spain, Israel, India, Japan and Kenya, where more say troops should remain in that country until the situation is stabilized than say they should be removed. However, in many parts of the world, there is strong support for the broader, American-led effort to combat terrorism. About seven-in-ten in France (71%), two-thirds in Germany, 59% in Britain and 58% in Spain back U.S. anti-terrorism efforts. Majorities in Eastern Europe also support the U.S.-led fight against terrorism, as do most in Israel and Kenya.

U.S. Viewed More Favorably Than China

Across the nations surveyed, the U.S. generally receives more favorable marks than China: the median percentage rating China favorably is 52%, eight points lower than the median percentage offering a positive assessment of the U.S.

However, the number of people expressing positive views of China has grown in a number of countries, including the four Western European countries surveyed. China’s image has also improved in Indonesia, Japan, Egypt and Poland. Opinion of China has worsened substantially in only two countries surveyed: Kenya (down 15 percentage points from last year) and Jordan (9 points lower than in 2010).

U.S. image, meanwhile, has declined in most countries for which there are trends. Compared with last year, favorable views of America are lower in Kenya (11 percentage points), Jordan (8 points), Turkey (7 points), Indonesia (5 points), Pakistan (5 points), Mexico (4 points), Poland (4 points) and Britain (4 points). However, the largest downward shift has occurred in China, where the number expressing a positive view of the U.S. has fallen 14 points – from 58% in 2010 to 44% today.

In Japan, by contrast, opinion of the U.S. has improved dramatically. A year ago, roughly two-thirds (66%) held a favorable view of America; today, more than eight-in-ten (85%) assess the U.S. favorably. This huge boost in U.S. image is attributable in part to America’s role in helping Japan respond to the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck the island nation’s northeast coast in March. A majority (57%) of Japanese say the U.S. has done a great deal to assist their country in responding to this dual disaster.

Read the full report, including views abroad of President Obama, at pewglobal.org where more information can be found on the Pew Global Attitudes Project. Read an analysis of the study in the Wall Street Journal by Pew Research Center president Andrew Kohut. (Registration may be required).

_{1. Throughout this report results for Pakistan are from interviews conducted in May 2011, following the death of Osama bin Laden. In all other countries, interviews were concluded in April 2011. A survey was also conducted in Pakistan prior to bin Laden’s death. For more information, see “”U.S. Image in Pakistan Falls No Further Following bin Laden Killing,” June 21, 2011.}