Some 42% of Americans now label China as an enemy, up from 25% 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% consider the country a partner, according to the report. The findings come as the Biden administration is seeking to stabilize US-China relations to avoid miscalculations that could result in clashes, while still trying to counter the world's second-largest economy on various issues, from Russia's war in Ukraine to Taiwan and human rights, the AP reports.
The Pew report, which is drawn from an April 1-7 survey of a sample of 3,600 US adults, found roughly half of Americans think that limiting China's power and influence should be a top US foreign policy priority. Only 8% don't think it should be a priority at all. For the fifth year in a row, about 8 in 10 Americans report an unfavorable view of China, the Pew report said. "Today, 81% of US adults see the country unfavorably, including 43% who hold a very unfavorable opinion. Chinese President Xi Jinping receives similarly negative ratings," the report said.
In 2011, the year before Xi took power, some 51% of Americans held a favorable view of China, according to Pew. Now, the figure is just 16%. American attitudes toward China 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. Beijing's human rights record, its closeness to Russia, and its policies toward Taiwan and Hong Kong have also left Americans with negative views of the country, according to Pew's previous analyses.
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