Thirty percent of college students believe that China is the most powerful country in the world, according to a poll conducted by College Pulse.
The United States garnered 48% of the votes, with Russia coming in at third (6%) and the United Kingdom fourth (4%).
The survey evaluated responses from more than 27,000 college students across the nation and comes amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and China, as both have been engaged in a trade war since President Donald Trump in 2018 announced tariffs on Chinese goods in an effort to modify the U.S.-Chinese trade deficit.
FBI Director Christopher Wray in July warned senators that China was attempting to steal its way to economic dominance.
"There is no country that poses a more severe counterintelligence threat to this country right now than China," Wray told the Senate Judiciary Committee. China is trying to "steal their way up the economic ladder at our expense," he said.
"It is a threat that's deep and diverse and wide and vexing," Wray said. "It affects basically every industry in this country."
China also netted the highest gains in the 2019 Asia Power Index, and now almost matches the U.S. and Russia in cyber capability.
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