China and foreign relations

Surveys: global opinions on China's rise

Here is some data from two recent surveys about people's attitudes towards China's rise:

UPI/Zogby Poll of American attitudes to China

- 75% of respondents said China is top U.S. economic rival, with Japan coming in a distant second at 14%
- 60% said they view China as an economic threat to the U.S.
- 22% believe China is a threat to U.S. national security
- 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. You can read a full report on the survey on Zogby's website here.


Chicago Council on Global Affairs and WorldPublicOpinion.org poll

From Newsweek

[This survey was] conducted among 18 countries over the last year and ... finds that a majority of citizens in 8 of 14 countries surveyed expect that China will eventually catch up with the United States economically—and are utterly unconcerned by the prospect. Yet surprisingly, the survey also reveals that a majority or near majority of respondents in most countries don’t trust China to act responsibly beyond its borders. China’s score on trustworthiness is virtually the same as that of the United States, which has seen its popularity slide precipitously since the 1990s.

Some of the results are below. It's interesting that the French respondents, whose government makes far fewer noises about China's rise than that of the U.S., seem to fear China the most, while respondents in Israel, usually accused of being too close to the U.S., seem more confident of China than the U.S. when it comes to acting responsibly.

Do You Trust the United States to Act Responsibly in the World?

No
(Percentage of Respondents Who Answered "No, Not At All" and "No, Not Very Much")

Philippines 85%
Israel 81%
Australia 59%
Poland 51%
Ukraine 49%

Do You Trust China to Act Responsibly in the World?

No
(Percentage of Respondents Who Answered "No, Not At All" and "No, Not Very Much")

France 76%
Peru 70%
Argentina 65%
South Korea 61%
Thailand 59%
United States 58%
Russia 56%
India 49%
Israel 47%
Poland 47%

Yes
(Percentage of Respondents Who Answered "Yes, Somewhat" and " Yes, A Great Deal")

Australia 61%
Indonesia 59%
Philippines 57%
Ukraine 46%
Armenia divided with 46% on each side

The Newsweek article, which includes the results of other questions in the survey, is here. The survey is also on Worldpublicopinion.org's site.

There are currently 5 Comments for Surveys: global opinions on China's rise.

Comments on Surveys: global opinions on China's rise

In this regard, NPR has put on an interesting debate on "A Booming China Spells Trouble for America."

The data quoted above conflicts with the data in the cited and linked Newsweek article. Above you indicate the following response:

"Do You Trust the United States to Act Responsibly in the World?

No
(Percentage of Respondents Who Answered "No, Not At All" and "No, Not Very Much")
Philippines 85%
Israel 81%..."

but the Newsweek article indicates states the following:

Yes (Percentage of Respondents Who Answered "Yes, Somewhat" and "Yes, A Great Deal")

Philippines
85%

Israel
81%

Australia
...

I think we need to teach china a lesson. They think they can control the whole world what gives them the right. China is a terrorist they provide ammunitions to pakistan to create war with other nations. One day China will collapse and how could people live in a communist government they need to overthrow the leader and get democracy. The country tries to pressure others to do what they want, well now its time to show them what needs to be done in their country. I feel people should stop buying stuff from china, i mean look at all of those kids that got sick from lead in toys and anyways once we start buying from other countries the sooner china will collapse.

Given the current Sino-Australia relationship, it's a shocker to see that 61% of Australians would say Yes to the question "Do You Trust China to Act Responsibly in the World?".

Incredible.

@Lisa: judging from the speech pattern, let's welcome Governor Palin to Asia. When's that HK engagement again?

china needs to lay off the whole pakistan situation and stop trying to take territory that doesnt belong to it. Like arunachal pradesh that is india's. China is a bully and a terrorist for supporting pakistan. China has no right to protest the prime minister going to arunachal pradesh. They have 38,000 km of our property and we should expect to have it back, this is gone to far china will begin to lose its image in the world and suffer the consequences that are inevitable.

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