It’s all there in black and white, at least according to this poll. Despite the relative health of the US economy, US citizens seem paranoid when it comes to China.
These are the results of interesting UPI/John Zogby poll of US citizens responding to various questions about China.
Couple of random thoughts: what’s the difference between an “economic threat” and an “economic partner?” How do you become the latter rather than the former?
Also, interesting that only six per cent view India as a bigger economic “threat” than China, despite the fact that India is already a much bigger player in the global software business than China is, and despite the fact that India, broadly speaking, has a built in competitive advantage: its educated citizens all speak English, and thus can step into any job in which communication with a US company/ supplier/customer is important. I wonder ten years from now what the result would be in response to this question…
UPI/Zogby Poll: 75% say China top U.S. economic rival
Most view China as an economic threat to the U.S. and are worried about China’s increased consumption of energy resources
Americans overwhelmingly believe China is the chief economic rival of the U.S. and more than half view China as an economic threat, a new UPI/Zogby Interactive poll shows.
Given a list of countries, Americans overwhelmingly said (75%) China is the chief economic rival of the U.S., with Japan coming in a distant second at 14%. Sixty percent of Americans said they view China as an economic threat to the U.S., while 22% believe China is a threat to U.S. national security. Just 6% said they would describe China as an economic partner and an ally.
The survey, conducted nationwide from May 16-18, 2007, included 5,141 adult online respondents and carries a margin of error of +/- 1.4 percentage points.
Asked about the most important issue between the U.S. and China, 29% cited the trade imbalance and U.S. trade deficit as the top issue. Another 21% said China’s growing global presence and economic power was of greatest concern, and 13% were most concerned about the loss of U.S. jobs to China and the related Chinese competition against American companies.
While nearly half of Americans (44%) believe U.S. relations with China have remained about the same since 2000, 28% believe relations between the two countries have worsened, and 19% believe relations have improved. Nearly two in three (64%) give President Bush poor performance marks for his handling of relations with China.
Most Americans believe China has a larger global influence economically (81%) than militarily (10%). China’s increased energy use also weighs heavily on the minds of Americans – 71% said they are concerned about China’s increased consumption of fossil fuels and other non-renewable energy. Four out of five (81%) believe China’s quest for energy resources overseas will have an adverse effect on U.S. energy supplies.
More than half of Americans (55%) view China’s growing economy and trade as a threat to the U.S., while just 20% see it as a benefit. Half (50%) believe the U.S. trade imbalance with China is a great problem, and another 39% believe it is somewhat of a problem—only 5% believe it is not a problem. Nearly two in three (62%) believe China’s growth has hurt the U.S. job market, while 21% believe it has had little impact and 9% believe it has helped.
The vast majority of Americans (79%) believe manufacturing is the U.S. job sector most negatively impacted by China’s growth, while 9% believe U.S. technology development has been hardest hit. Another 2% said they believe U.S. agricultural production has been most affected.
More than two in three (67%) say they do not favor U.S. companies opening plants or factories in China. While 22% believe U.S. consumers benefit from purchasing Chinese manufactured goods and services, nearly three times as many said U.S. consumers inevitably hurt themselves in the long term by purchasing Chinese manufactured goods and services. More than twice as many (62%) said they would favor the U.S. taking steps to impose restrictions on the quantity of imported Chinese goods as believe the U.S. should not impose restrictions (29%).
Nearly half (45%) believe that because of China’s dramatic growth in their manufacturing sector, the U.S. should focus more on competing with Chinese manufacturing and selling goods to global markets, while 30% believe the U.S. should focus more on developing other sectors, such as service industries.
When asked about their general opinion of the Chinese people, Americans overwhelmingly responded positively, with 79% who said they view the Chinese people favorable. The Chinese government, however, is viewed unfavorably by a vast majority of Americans (87%).
Offered a choice between the U.S. doing more business with India or China, 44% would prefer increased business with India, while just 13% would prefer China. The vast majority of Americans (84%) believe China poses a greater economic threat to the U.S. than India (6%). Three out of four (76%) said they believe that, 10 years from now, China will be a greater economic threat, compared to 8% who believe India will pose more of a threat.
For a detailed methodological statement on this survey, please visit:
http://www.zogby.com/methodology/readmeth.dbm?ID=1189: