Americans more open to China than Washington seems to be, survey shows

Washington’s views don’t always reflect those of the country at large, at least judging from a survey released this week suggesting that two-thirds of Americans support a policy of friendly cooperation and engagement with China rather than working to limit its power.

The survey results come as official relations between Washington and Beijing continue a downward spiral that started in March 2018 when the Trump administration imposed punitive tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. Since then, the trade war has heated to feverish pitch, spilling over to areas ranging from science, tourism and education to finance, investment and national security.

“Given the attention and anxiety that China is given in DC circles, we would have expected a more fearful, or a sense of threat from the, American public on both sides of the aisle,” said Dina Smeltz, senior public opinion and foreign policy fellow with the Chicago Council of Global Affairs, which conducted the survey.

“But really, Americans are quite pragmatic toward China. They think trade is important, even if they’re divided on tariffs.”

Top Chinese and US negotiators are meeting Thursday and Friday in Washington in a bid to put high-stakes trade talks back on track. Without some sort of agreement, punitive US tariffs on US$250 billion of Chinese goods are set to increase on Tuesday to 30 per cent, up from 25 per cent, with fresh duties of 15 per cent on US$160 billion of mostly consumer products set to go into effect on December 15.

The survey found that 68 per cent of Americans favour continued friendly ties with China compared to 31 per cent who say the US should actively work to check the Asian giant’s power. These views have remained largely consistent, the council said, since it started asking Americans this question in 2006.