WASHINGTON - While the Chinese and US publics and elites hold generally
favorable views of each other, distrust between them also persists, according
to a new "mirror" survey of both countries released here Monday.
The survey, entitled "Hope and Fear: American and Chinese Attitudes Towards
Each Other" found that a majority of US citizens consider China's growing
economic power as at least a "potential threat" to US interests, while Chinese
were most
concerned about Washington's intentions regarding Taiwan and preventing their
country from becoming a world power.
A majority of Chinese also believe their country will overtake Washington as
the world's leading superpower within the next 20 years, while only one in five
US citizens believe Beijing will reach that status. About half of the US public
believes Washington will retain its leading position, while less than one in
four Chinese agree with that view.
The survey, which asked the same questions of respondents on a range of issues
in both countries during August and September, was sponsored by the Committee
of 100 (C-100), a non-governmental organization made up of Chinese-American
leaders who broadly support engagement between the two countries. It was
conducted by the Zogby International polling firm.
In addition to interviewing members of the general public, the survey also
identified discrete groups of "opinion leaders" and "business leaders" in both
countries, as well as "Congressional staffers" in the US who help determine
elite opinion.
The survey's release comes at a moment of relative stability in ties between
the two nations, which have cooperated closely in recent years on such
hot-button issues as North Korea's nuclear program.
Despite the presence in the current administration of a number of "China
hawks", including former Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick
Cheney, President George W Bush has, if anything, tried to solidify ties with
Beijing over the past seven years.
Still, tensions have persisted. Washington has pushed hard for Beijing to
address its huge bilateral trade deficit in part by revaluing the yuan and by
stricter enforcement of intellectual property rights. It has also criticized
China occasionally for not being more forthcoming about its military budget and
strategic planning and for its relations with so-called "rogue" states,
including Sudan, Myanmar, Iran and Zimbabwe.
Beijing has its own complaints, including US arms sales to Taiwan and
Washington's efforts to draw India, Japan, Vietnam, Australia and other
countries on the Chinese periphery into an informal geostrategic alliance as a
check to Beijing's expanding military reach.
The survey found that publics in both nations hold mostly favorable views of
each other, although negative impressions of China were more widespread in the
US
Sixty percent of Chinese respondents held generally favorable views of the US,
while only one in five had an unfavorable view. In the US, the split was 52%
favorable toward China; 45%, unfavorable.
The views of Chinese business and opinion leaders were significantly more
positive about the US than the public at large - up to 94% in the case of
business leaders.
The views of their elite counterparts in the US, on the other hand, tended to
be consistent with those of the US public, with the exception of Congressional
staffers, only 35% of whom held favorable opinions of China, while 62% said
their views were unfavorable.
Both publics considered the relationship with each other as among their most
important. From a list of seven nations, Chinese respondents said the US was
Beijing's most important partner; US respondents ranked China as the third most
important partner, behind Britain and Japan.
More than seven out of 10 respondents in both countries said they believed that
bilateral trade benefits both economies, although enthusiasm was somewhat
higher in China.
Still, about two out of three US respondents said they believed China's
emergence as a global economic power represented either a "serious" or a
"potential" threat to the US, while one in three said China's emergence either
represented no threat or that China should be seen as an "economic partner".
Three in four US respondents said they blame China for the loss of US jobs,
while the vast majority of Chinese respondents took a more benign view of their
effect on the US and the world economy.
US respondents expressed similar concerns about the growing strength of
Beijing's military power - 75% said they saw it as either a "serious" or a
"potential" threat. That was up from 66% who took that position in a C-100
survey taken two years ago.
Still, nearly two-thirds of US respondents - compared to only one-third of
Chinese respondents - agreed with the statement that Washington "accepts
China's status as a rising power and wants a collaborative relationship".
One-third of US respondents - and 45% of Chinese respondents - said they
believe Washington is "trying to prevent China from becoming a great power".
If military hostilities resulted from a declaration of independence by Taiwan,
60% of US respondents said Washington should not intervene, while nearly
one-third supported intervention on Taiwan's behalf. Only 11% of Chinese
respondents supported achieving unification with Taiwan through military force;
a majority or plurality of Chinese public and elite respondents expressed
optimism that Taiwan's status could be resolved peacefully.
Chinese respondents expressed greater concern than their US counterparts over
global warming. Nearly seven in 10 in China said they worried about climate
change "a great deal" or a "fair amount" compared to about six in 10 US
respondents who took the same position.
Chinese respondents were far more optimistic than their US counterparts about
the state and direction of their nation. Nearly 90% of Chinese said they
believe their country is on the "right track" while nearly 60% of US
respondents said they believed their country was on the "wrong track".
The survey found little confidence among respondents in both countries that the
mass media of the other portrayed their own nation accurately. In addition, the
survey found misperceptions among elites in both countries about the views of
their publics toward each other.
Elites in the US underestimate the favorable views of China held by the general
public, while elites in China believe the views held by their compatriots of
the US are more favorable than they actually are.
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