{"id":24981,"date":"2012-02-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-02-13T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2012\/02\/13\/ask-the-expert-public-opinion-about-the-us-and-china\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T03:51:52","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T08:51:52","slug":"ask-the-expert-public-opinion-about-the-us-and-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2012\/02\/13\/ask-the-expert-public-opinion-about-the-us-and-china\/","title":{"rendered":"Public Opinion About the U.S. and China"},"content":{"rendered":"

The man expected to be China’s next president, current Vice President Xi Jinping, is meeting Tuesday with President Obama at the White House. Richard Wike, Associate Director of the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project, answers questions about public opinion at home and abroad regarding China and the United States.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Q: How do Americans view China?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

A: On balance, Americans rate China favorably. A survey\u00a0conducted in March and April 2011 by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project<\/a> found that 51% expressed a positive opinion of China, while 36% offered\u00a0a negative rating.\u00a0 But Americans have\u00a0real concerns about China’s growing economic might — 53% said China’s economic\u00a0growth is bad for the U.S.\u00a0 When it comes\u00a0to the countries that Americans see posing the most danger to the U.S., 22%\u00a0cited China in a January 2012 poll by the Pew Research Center for the People\u00a0& the Press<\/a>, about the same as did so in 2011 (Iran was at the top of the\u00a0list at 28%).<\/p>\n\n

Q: This meeting is\u00a0coming at a time when China has been trying to assert its economic and\u00a0political influence in the world arena. What does your research say about\u00a0global views of China and the United States?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

A: Views about the global balance of power have shifted over\u00a0the last few years — increasingly, people in many parts of the world believe\u00a0China will supplant the United States as the dominant superpower. Our spring\u00a02011 survey found that, in 15 of 22 nations, majorities or pluralities say\u00a0China either will replace or already has replaced the U.S. as the world’s\u00a0leading power.\u00a0This view was especially widespread in Western Europe, where\u00a0at least six-in-ten in France, Spain, Britain and Germany\u00a0say China has or\u00a0will overtake the U.S. Majorities in Pakistan, the Palestinian territories,\u00a0Mexico and China itself also hold this opinion.<\/p>\n\n

Q: What is driving this trend?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

<\/strong>A: Some of this reflects the fact that many see China\u00a0surpassing the U.S. economically. This is especially the case in Western\u00a0Europe, where the percentage naming China as the world’s top economic power has\u00a0increased by double digits in Spain, Germany, Britain and France since 2009.\u00a0However, in other parts of the world, the U.S. is still\u00a0considered the economic leader — for example, more than six-in-ten in Turkey,\u00a0Mexico and Kenya name the U.S. as the world’s dominant economic power. And notably,\u00a0by an almost 2-to-1 margin, the Chinese still place the U.S. in the top spot.<\/p>\n\n

Q: Last November, President Obama elicited a strong\u00a0response from China when he announced plans to deploy 2,500 Marines in\u00a0Australia to, in his words, ensure that “as a Pacific nation, the United States\u00a0will play a larger and long-term role in shaping this region and its future.”\u00a0How do other countries view the U.S.-China competition when it comes to\u00a0military and strategic issues?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

A: Overall, there is little enthusiasm for the prospect of\u00a0China equaling the U.S. militarily. The prevailing view in Japan and India is\u00a0that it would not be in their country’s interest if China were to equal the\u00a0U.S. militarily. Majorities across Western Europe and in Israel share this opinion,\u00a0as do most of those surveyed in Turkey. However, in the other predominantly\u00a0Muslim nations polled, views are quite different — for instance, majorities in\u00a0Pakistan, Jordan and the Palestinian territories would welcome military parity\u00a0between China and the U.S.<\/p>\n\n

Q: How do the images of both countries measure\u00a0up against each other?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

A: Across the 23 nations we surveyed, the U.S. generally\u00a0receives more favorable marks than China: the median percentage rating China\u00a0favorably is 52%, eight points lower than the median percentage offering a\u00a0positive assessment of the U.S.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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