More Than Half of Younger Americans Now View China Unfavorably, New Survey Finds

Fifty-three percent of younger Americans now view China “unfavorably,” according to a new survey published April 25 by Pew Research, which examined the public’s views of the nation during the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus pandemic.

The survey, conducted from March 3 to 29, 2020, among 1,000 adults in the United States, found roughly two-thirds of Americans now say they have an unfavorable view of China, the most negative rating for the country since Pew Research began asking the question in 2005, and up nearly 20 percentage points since Donald Trump became president of the United States.

However, the survey found that while younger people now hold increasingly negative views of China and are more prone to see the nation as a threat to the United States, younger Americans are more likely than their older counterparts to view China favorably, with 43 per cent of Americans surveyed between 18 and 29 years old still holding a favorable opinion of the communist regime.

The study also found that roughly nine in 10 American adults see China’s power and influence as a threat, including 62 per cent who say it is a major threat, according to the survey.

“Older Americans are more concerned than younger adults about China,” Pew Research said. “Nearly seven-in-ten of those ages 50 and older see China’s power and influence as a major threat, compared with roughly half of those 18 to 29.”

Pew Research said that older Americans, those aged 50 and older, are more likely than those ages 18 to 29 to have unfavorable views of China, and that this has been the case every year since the Center first began asking the question 15 years ago. However, while “half or more of those 50 and older have held negative views of China since 2012, this is the first year in which more than half of younger Americans also have an unfavorable opinion. Among this age group, negative views have roughly doubled since the question was first asked.”

The survey also found that Republicans tend to hold more unfavorable views of the Chinese regime than Democrats, although the latter has seen an increase in negative views this year.

“In some ways, this is a partisan story,” noted Pew Research. “Republicans continue to be more wary of China than Democrats across many questions in this report.”

“Nearly three-quarters of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents see China unfavorably, compared with roughly six-in-ten Democrats and Democratic leaners. They are also more worried about China when it comes to cybersecurity and economic issues such as job losses to China and the trade imbalance. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to see the United States outpacing China as the world’s leading economic power as well as the world’s top military,” the report added.

While the favorability of China has declined, so too has confidence in Chinese leader Xi Jinping, whose authority has been badly dented due to the regime’s mishandling of the coronavirus outbreak. Roughly seven in 10 Americans (71 per cent) surveyed said they do not have confidence in Xi to do the right thing when it comes to world affairs.

As The Epoch Times has previously reported, CCP officials knew in early December that the virus, which causes COVID-19, had appeared in Wuhan, but did not share this vital information with the rest of the world. Instead, they arrested those who tried to warn of the danger, including doctors, accusing them of spreading “rumors,” prevented media coverage of it and deleted any mentions of it from social media.

“While views of Xi have been fairly stable for the past few years, remaining within a 10 percentage point range, in just the last year the percentage saying they lack confidence in him has increased by 21 points,” Pew Research said, adding that “this shift occurred among both Republicans and Democrats, as well as among older and younger Americans.”

The survey comes after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for “the Chinese Communist Party come clean about how this all began,” in reference to the CCP virus pandemic.

Speaking on CBN News on Friday, Pompeo said, “We know it started in Wuhan, China. That’s the origination of the virus. We need to figure out how it happened. It’s not just about political retribution or accountability. It’s important today. We need to know this so we can save lives going forward.”

“We need our scientists, our academics, and our epidemiologists all to have access to the data, access to a sample of the virus, access to the places that might have come to. Those are all things that matter so that we can solve this problem, get our country back to work, and save lives,” he added.