{"id":28208,"date":"2021-06-30T09:56:54","date_gmt":"2021-06-30T14:56:54","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-05-07T14:05:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T18:05:13","slug":"most-americans-have-cold-views-of-china-heres-what-they-think-about-china-in-their-own-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/global\/2021\/06\/30\/most-americans-have-cold-views-of-china-heres-what-they-think-about-china-in-their-own-words\/","title":{"rendered":"Most Americans Have \u2018Cold\u2019 Views of China. Here\u2019s What They Think About China, In Their Own Words"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide is-content-justification-space-between is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-3b5177cb wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-7387b849 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-date has-small-label-font-size wp-container-content-9cfa9a5a\"><time datetime=\"2021-06-30T09:56:54-04:00\">June 30, 2021<\/time><\/div>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-social-links has-small-icon-size has-icon-color is-style-logos-only is-layout-flex wp-block-social-links-is-layout-flex\">\n\n\n\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"most-americans-have-cold-views-of-china-here-s-what-they-think-about-china-in-their-own-words\">Most Americans Have \u2018Cold\u2019 Views of China. Here\u2019s What They Think About China, In Their Own Words<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-640-wide\"><img data-dominant-color=\"6a6964\" data-has-transparency=\"true\" style=\"--dominant-color: #6a6964;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/PG_21.03.04_US-view-of-China_Interactive_Collage-01.png?resize=480,270 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/PG_21.03.04_US-view-of-China_Interactive_Collage-01.png?resize=782,440 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/PG_21.03.04_US-view-of-China_Interactive_Collage-01.png?resize=960,540 960w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/PG_21.03.04_US-view-of-China_Interactive_Collage-01.png?resize=1200,675 1200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/PG_21.03.04_US-view-of-China_Interactive_Collage-01.png?resize=1564,880 1564w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/PG_21.03.04_US-view-of-China_Interactive_Collage-01.png?resize=1600,900 1600w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/PG_21.03.04_US-view-of-China_Interactive_Collage-01.png?resize=5334,3001 5334w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"360\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/06\/PG_21.03.04_US-view-of-China_Interactive_Collage-01.png?w=640\" alt=\"(Noel Celis\/AFP; Justin Sullivan\/Getty Images; Ivan Abreu\/SOPA Images\/Light Rocket via Getty Images; iStock Photo)\" class=\"wp-image-35504 has-transparency\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(Noel Celis\/AFP; Justin Sullivan\/Getty Images; Ivan Abreu\/SOPA Images\/Light Rocket via Getty Images; iStock Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap wp-block-paragraph\">Negative views of China have <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/global\/2021\/03\/04\/most-americans-support-tough-stance-toward-china-on-human-rights-economic-issues\/pg_2021-03-04_us-views-china_0-06-1\/\">increased substantially since 2018<\/a>. Today, 67% of Americans have \u201ccold\u201d feelings toward China on a \u201cfeeling thermometer,\u201d rating the country less than 50 on a 0 to 100 scale. This is up from just 46% who said the same in 2018. The intensity of these negative feelings has also increased: The share who say they have \u201cvery cold\u201d feelings toward China (0-24 on the same scale) has roughly doubled from 23% to 47%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But what do Americans think specifically about China beyond a number that represents their opinion of the country on a feeling thermometer? To understand this, we asked them an open-ended question: \u201cWhat\u2019s the first thing you think about when you think about China?\u201d We <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2021\/03\/04\/in-their-own-words-what-americans-think-about-china\/\">analyzed the first five references<\/a> in each response and found that Americans rarely brought up the Chinese&nbsp;<em>people<\/em>&nbsp;or the country\u2019s long history and culture. Instead, they focused primarily on the Chinese government \u2013 including its policies or how it behaves internationally \u2013 as well as its economy. Human rights, China\u2019s economy and the country\u2019s political system were referenced most by Americans, coming up among 20%, 19% and 17% of respondents, respectively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While these broad categories are informative, highlighting the frequency of certain topics and themes, the nuance evident in many responses is important in its own right. Below you can explore what Americans say is top of mind when it comes to China, based on the \u201cfeeling thermometer\u201d score that they gave the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"sans-serif has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:700\">Related:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\" style=\"background-color:#eeede4\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-dac199de wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:60%\">\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<article class=\"wp-block-prc-block-story-item\" id=\"post-51585\"><div class=\"meta\"><span class=\"label\">data essay<\/span><time class=\"date\" datetime=\"2022-09-28T00:00:00+00:00\">Sep 28, 2022<\/time><\/div>  <h2 class=\"header medium light\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/global\/2022\/09\/28\/how-global-public-opinion-of-china-has-shifted-in-the-xi-era\/\">How Global Public Opinion of China Has Shifted in the Xi Era<\/a><\/h2> \t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:40%\">\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-640-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/global\/2022\/09\/28\/how-global-public-opinion-of-china-has-shifted-in-the-xi-era\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"dae3e1\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #dae3e1;\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/PG_2022.09.26_Views-of-China-Xi_featured.jpg?w=640\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-51633 not-transparent\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" style=\"margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--70)\"\/>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-prc-platform-feature-loader\" id=\"js-interactive\"><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We asked Americans: \u201cWhat\u2019s the first thing you think about when you think about China?\u201d Here&#8217;s how they answered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":578,"featured_media":35504,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"layout-essay-no-breadcrumbs","format":"standard","meta":{"sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_crdt_document":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","relatedPosts":[],"reportMaterials":[{"key":"_toqtbphxa","type":"promo","attachmentId":35521,"url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/PG_2021.06.30_Global-Views-China_promo.png","icon":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/06\/PG_2021.06.30_Global-Views-China_promo.png"}],"multiSectionReport":[],"package_parts__enabled":false,"package_parts":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0,"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"bylines":[],"acknowledgements":[],"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[]},"categories":[119,26],"tags":[],"bylines":[],"collection":[],"datasets":[],"level_of_effort":[],"primary_audience":[],"information_type":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[463,460],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[506,514,515],"research-teams":[525],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-28208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-china-global-image","category-international-affairs","formats-data-essay","formats-feature","regions-countries-china","regions-countries-international","regions-countries-united-states","research-teams-global"],"label":false,"post_parent":0,"word_count":291,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/global\/2021\/06\/30\/most-americans-have-cold-views-of-china-heres-what-they-think-about-china-in-their-own-words\/","art_direction":{"A1":{"id":35504,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/PG_21.03.04_US-view-of-China_Interactive_Collage-01.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/PG_21.03.04_US-view-of-China_Interactive_Collage-01.png?w=564&h=317&crop=1","width":564,"height":317,"chartArt":false},"A2":{"id":35504,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/PG_21.03.04_US-view-of-China_Interactive_Collage-01.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/PG_21.03.04_US-view-of-China_Interactive_Collage-01.png?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"chartArt":false},"A3":{"id":35504,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/PG_21.03.04_US-view-of-China_Interactive_Collage-01.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/PG_21.03.04_US-view-of-China_Interactive_Collage-01.png?w=194&h=110&crop=1","width":194,"height":110,"chartArt":false},"A4":{"id":35504,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/PG_21.03.04_US-view-of-China_Interactive_Collage-01.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/PG_21.03.04_US-view-of-China_Interactive_Collage-01.png?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"chartArt":false},"XL":{"id":35504,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/PG_21.03.04_US-view-of-China_Interactive_Collage-01.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/PG_21.03.04_US-view-of-China_Interactive_Collage-01.png?w=720&h=405&crop=1","width":720,"height":405,"chartArt":false},"social":{"id":35504,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/PG_21.03.04_US-view-of-China_Interactive_Collage-01.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/PG_21.03.04_US-view-of-China_Interactive_Collage-01.png?w=1200&h=628&crop=1","width":1200,"height":628,"chartArt":false}},"_embeds":[],"watchers":[],"table_of_contents":[],"report_materials":[{"key":"_toqtbphxa","type":"promo","attachmentId":35521,"url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/PG_2021.06.30_Global-Views-China_promo.png","label":"","icon":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/06\/PG_2021.06.30_Global-Views-China_promo.png"}],"report_pagination":{"current_post":null,"next_post":null,"previous_post":null,"pagination_items":[]},"parent_info":{"parent_title":"Most 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