Chinese Hostility Towards the U.S. Drops Below 50% in Recent Poll

U.S. President Joe Biden (right) and Chinese President Xi Jinping are shaking hands at a summit held in Bali, Indonesia, where the G20 summit was held on November 14, 2022 (local time)./AFP·Yonhap News

A decrease in hostility towards each other’s countries among the citizens of the United States and China has been observed.

In a poll conducted by U.S. pollster Morning Consult on the 8th (local time) with 1,000 citizens from the U.S. and China, respectively (sample error ±3%), it was revealed that the proportion of Chinese citizens who view the U.S. as an enemy or unfriendly has decreased by 9 percentage points from the April survey to 48%.

Notably, while over 80% of Chinese citizens in April last year answered that they viewed the U.S. as an enemy or unfriendly, this number has dropped to less than 50% in this survey, according to U.S. internet media Axios. The proportion of Chinese citizens who view the U.S. as an ally or friendly has also surged from 10% in April last year to 45%.

The U.S. citizens’ hostile or unfriendly view of China decreased by 4 percentage points compared to the previous survey.

Moreover, over 75% of Chinese respondents expressed concern about tensions between the U.S. and China, and the same proportion of U.S.-China respondents said both countries should make efforts to resolve the tension.

According to Morning Consult’s analysis, the change in Chinese citizens’ view of the U.S. is believed to be more influenced by concerns about China’s economic downturn than by a shift in geopolitical direction.

Morning Consult stated, “Despite the recent increase in dovish sentiment in some regions of the U.S. Democratic Party, the possibility of détente between the U.S. and China in the near future is still limited,” adding, “Especially if the Republican Party increases its control of Congress next year or wins the presidential election, the U.S.-China relationship is expected to deteriorate further due to domestic political interests.”

This survey is the result of a series of monthly surveys conducted in the U.S. and China from February 2022 to last month, according to Morning Consult.