Japan survey finds China top US partner in Asia

A poll by the Japanese Foreign Ministry found 35 per cent of 200 American opinion leaders saw Beijing as Washington’s most important ally in Asia
Japan topped the list of nations in the region seen as reliable for the US, followed by Australia

Japan

Kyodo

Published: 1:03pm, 26 Jun 2021

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More American opinion leaders view China as the United States’ most important partner in Asia given the countries’ trade relations, but Japan is considered most trustworthy, a survey by the Japanese Foreign Ministry showed.

Asked to choose “the most important partner of the United States” among Asian and nearby countries, 35 per cent of 200 opinion leaders from a range of fields picked China, 33 per cent chose Japan and 9 per cent Australia. South Korea ranked fourth at 7 per cent in the annual survey.

The percentage of respondents selecting China was up significantly from 18 per cent in the survey a year earlier, while those picking Japan slipped from 42 per cent.

Of those who saw Beijing as the most important partner, almost four out of five cited economic factors, with 56 per cent picking trade ties and 23 per cent the country’s economic strength, according to the survey conducted between December 2020 and January 2021.

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Japan topped the list of nations in the region seen as reliable for the US with 36 per cent of the respondents naming the country, followed by Australia selected by 30 per cent. China gained just 3 per cent of the votes, trailing South Korea which ranked third, picked by 17 per cent.

Asked why they selected Japan, 41 per cent pointed to trade ties and 33 per cent cited good relations and the bilateral alliance.

Economic ties between the world’s two largest economies deepened significantly after China’s accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001, with their goods trade totalling US$558.1 billion in 2019, about three times larger than that between Tokyo and Washington.

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US-China tensions became a major concern for the global economy after former president Donald Trump instigated a tariff war to reduce the trade deficit with Beijing, accusing the Asian country of unfair trade practices and intellectual property theft.

Globally, Canada was picked as the most important partner for the US, followed by the UK, Japan and Germany.

Britain was named the most trustworthy among the world’s countries and regions, followed by Canada, Japan and the European Union.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: China seen as top US partner in Asia: survey