Americans name China as the country posing the greatest threat to the U.S.
In an open-ended question allowing Americans to name which country they see as the greatest threat to the U.S., 50% name China.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
In an open-ended question allowing Americans to name which country they see as the greatest threat to the U.S., 50% name China.
Americans see China as a growing superpower – and increasingly say it is the world’s leading economy.
A median of 76% of adults in the 24 countries surveyed say China does not take into account the interests of other countries in its foreign policy. Majorities in most countries also say China does not contribute to global peace and stability.
Large majorities in most of the 19 countries surveyed have negative views of China, but relatively few say bilateral relations are bad.
The Chinese Communist Party is preparing for its 20th National Congress, an event likely to result in an unprecedented third term for President Xi Jinping. Since Xi took office in 2013, opinion of China in the U.S. and other advanced economies has turned more negative. How did it get to be this way?
Unfavorable opinion of China in the U.S. is at its highest level in 14 years of polling. Americans also increasingly see China as a threat, and more than half see friction in the current bilateral economic relationship.
More countries still name the U.S. as the foremost economic power than say the same of China. And, even in nations that welcome China’s economic growth, few feel similarly about its growing military might.
Across 38 nations, a median of 42% say the U.S. is the world’s leading economy, while 32% name China. But the economic balance of power has shifted in the eyes of some key U.S. allies and trading partners.
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