WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- While Chinese and Americans generally hold favorable views toward each other, a strong majority of Americans view China's emerging economic and military power as a threat to the U.S., while many Chinese believe the United States is trying to prevent their country from becoming a world power, according to a new mirror survey released today conducted by the Committee of 100.
The survey, entitled Hope & Fear: American and Chinese Attitudes Toward Each Other, was conducted from August 18 to September 19, 2007, in both the United States and China, and covers a broad range of bilateral issues, including economics and trade, product safety, Taiwan, the environment, mood of the country, and foreign policy. It was coordinated by the Committee of 100, a national non-partisan, non-profit membership organization consisting of Chinese American leaders who seek to encourage constructive relations between Chinese and American people. The survey was conducted among the general public in both countries, as well as with opinion leaders and business leaders in both countries, and with U.S. Congressional staffers.(1)
"By conducting a survey on similar issues in both countries at the same time, we are able to offer a comparative analysis of where the Chinese and American public agree and disagree, and how each views the bilateral relationship. Through a better understanding of how each public feels, the leaders of both countries can work more cooperatively on common issues and tip the balance further in favor of hope, and less on fear," said General John L. Fugh, Chairman of the Committee of 100.
Key findings include:
-- Overall Impressions: 60% of the Chinese public surveyed had a favorable impression of the United States, while 26% had an unfavorable view. This contrasts with a 52% favorable rating, and a 45% unfavorable rating, of China by the American public.
-- Trade: Large majorities in both countries believe that bilateral trade benefits both economies. In the United States, 72% of the general public surveyed "strongly agree" or "somewhat agree" that trade with China benefits the U.S., while 27% "strongly disagree" or "somewhat disagree." In China, the figures are even higher: 82% "strongly agree" or "somewhat agree" that trade with the U.S. benefits China, while only 7% "strongly disagree" or "somewhat disagree."
-- Product Safety: By a considerable margin, Americans said that concerns over product safety had reduced their confidence in buying Chinese-made goods - 68% of U.S. respondents agreed, while 30% disagreed. Media attention on this issue may have contributed to a 7% overall decline in the U.S. image of China in this survey from a similar one conducted by the Committee of 100 in 2005.
-- Economy and Jobs: A majority of Americans fear China's growing economic power - 25% of Americans surveyed said China represented a "serious threat," and another 40% said it represented a "potential threat." Only 7% of those surveyed said China did not represent any threat to the U.S., while 25% said the two countries were "economic partners." Three-in-four Americans said they believed China is responsible for a loss of U.S. jobs.
-- Superpower Status: Chinese and Americans differ on which country will be the world's leading superpower 20 years from now. Americans responded that the U.S. would lead (49% for the U.S. vs. 20% for China), while 55% of Chinese and 23% of Americans said China would lead.
-- Environment: Chinese respondents expressed greater concern over the harmful impact of global climate change than Americans: 69% of respondents in China said they worry about climate change "a great deal" or "a fair amount", while 26% said "only a little" or "not at all." In the U.S., 61% of respondents said they worry about climate change "a great deal" or "a fair amount," vs. 40% who said "only a little" or "not at all." Americans rated both governments poorly regarding their performance on the environment, while Chinese rated both governments positively.
-- Bilateral Relations: Respondents in both countries highly value the importance of the U.S.-China bilateral relationship. A majority of Americans and Chinese surveyed described the current relationship as "improving" or "remaining stable." Americans said the loss of U.S. jobs to China was their greatest concern, while Chinese respondents cited Taiwan as the most likely source of conflict between the two nations.
-- Most Important Foreign Partner: From a list of seven nations, Americans ranked China as the third most important global partner, behind only the United Kingdom and Japan. In the U.S. survey, Democrats rated China as second, while Republicans ranked it fourth. Chinese respondents said the U.S. is their country's most important foreign relationship, followed by Russia.
-- Mood of the Country: Chinese respondents are far more positive than Americans about the present state of their nation - 88% of Chinese said they believe their country is headed in the "right track" vs. 3% who said it is headed on the "wrong track." Among Americans surveyed, 34% said "right track" and 59% said "wrong track."
-- Most Pressing Domestic Issues: Americans and Chinese differ on their views of the most important issues facing their country - though respondents in both countries expressed a high level of concern about jobs and the economy and health care. Americans cited the Iraq war, jobs and the economy, healthcare and immigration as their top four issues, while Chinese mentioned jobs and economy, corruption, the Taiwan issue, and healthcare as their top four pressing issues.
Survey Methodology: The survey of the United States was conducted by Zogby International, a world-renowned polling firm based in Utica, N.Y. The survey was conduced between August 20 and September 4, 2007 through telephone interviews with 1,200 American adults nation-wide. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.9 percentage points. The survey of China was self-sponsored by the Beijing-based independent public opinion polling firm Horizon Research Consultancy Group. The survey was conducted between August 18 and September 7, 2007 through face-to-face interviews with 4,104 Chinese adults nation-wide. The margin of error is plus or minus 1.6 percentage points. A survey of 200 opinion leaders, 150 business leaders and 100 Congressional staffers was conducted in the United States. A survey of 203 opinion leaders and 156 business leaders was conducted in China.
(1) The data for the China part was drawn from Horizon Research Consultancy Group's own continuously self-sponsored and annually released survey, "The World in Chinese Eyes."
A full report of Hope & Fear: American and Chinese Attitudes Toward Each Other, including complete data, demographic analysis, and detailed survey methodology, can be found at http://www.committee100.org/.
Committee of 100
