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US-China relations
ChinaDiplomacy

Nearly half of Americans see Beijing-Taipei tensions as serious problem for US, poll finds

  • Pew survey also found that 66 per cent of those polled view Taiwan favourably
  • It was conducted before Tsai Ing-wen travelled to New York at the start of a 10-day trip

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Supporters gather as Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen arrives at a hotel in New York on Wednesday, her first US visit since 2019. Photo: Reuters
Sylvie Zhuangin Beijing
Nearly half of adults in the United States – or 47 per cent – say tensions between Beijing and Taiwan are a very serious problem for the US, according to a poll by the Washington-based Pew Research Centre.
The survey was conducted last week, ahead of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s 10-day international trip to the island’s diplomatic allies Guatemala and Belize, with stopovers in New York and Los Angeles. An expected meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has not been confirmed.

Tsai arrived in New York on Wednesday on her first visit to the US since 2019. Beijing – which sees self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to take control of it – said it “strongly opposed” the trip.

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Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen arrives in New York on sensitive US stopover

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen arrives in New York on sensitive US stopover

The Pew survey findings released on Wednesday show that 66 per cent of Americans view Taiwan favourably. And among those, almost one in 10 US adults said they had a very favourable view of Taiwan.

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Some 3,576 adults in the US were asked their opinions via online surveys.

For those who saw Taiwan favourably, more than half saw the Beijing-Taipei tensions as a very serious problem for the US. That dropped to 32 per cent for those who did not see the island favourably.

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The results contrast with Americans’ negative sentiment towards China at a time when the relationship has sharply deteriorated, including over Taiwan. A Pew survey in April last year – two months after Russia invaded Ukraine – found that 82 per cent of Americans viewed China negatively, while 62 per cent said the China-Russia relationship posed a very serious problem.
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