BEIJING (AP) – Americans are increasingly seeing China as a world superpower and a threat, though growing numbers perceive it more as a competitor than an enemy, according to a survey released Thursday.
The Washington-based Pew Research Center said that negative views of China reached a new high, with 82% of Americans having either somewhat unfavorable or very unfavorable views of the country, a 6 percentage point increase from last year.
About two-thirds of U.S. adults said that China’s influence in the world is getting stronger, and two-thirds also consider China’s power and influence a major threat to the United States.
At the same time, the proportion of respondents who saw China as an enemy has dropped since January. Currently, 62% of Americans see China as a competitor and 25% as an enemy, while in January 54% chose competitor and 35% said enemy – almost exactly the same as the prior year.
The shift may be a temporary one influenced by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Laura Silver, a senior researcher at Pew, said it’s likely that the war has changed how people define what is an enemy, as opposed to a competitor.