Suspicion of China’s motives has reached record levels, with 62 percent of U.S. adults now seeing that nation as an emerging, long-term danger to America.
According to Rasmussen Reports, Americans see China as more of an economic threat than a military one. About 70 percent see it as an economic threat, compared to only 15 percent who perceive it as a military threat, while another 15 percent aren’t sure.
Only 9 percent of Americans now describe the Asian powerhouse as a U.S. ally. Fifty-eight percent say China is somewhere between being an ally and being an enemy.
Twenty-seven percent see China as an outright enemy. That’s up from 16 percent when the same question was asked in April.
Only about a third of Americans agree with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s statement that the U.S.-China relationship “enjoys a bright future because common interests between our two countries far outweigh our differences.”
One source of potential friction between the two nations: China’s status as the largest foreign owner of U.S. debt obligations.
A whopping 69 percent of Americans said it is at least “somewhat likely” China will use its creditor position against the United States in the next five years. Nearly half consider that “very likely.”
Rasmussen described it as “the most negative assessment in three years of surveying on this question.”
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