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Since Donald Trump won office in 2017, the US-China relations have peaked amid\u00a0tariffs and trade war rhetoric, but now, as an unprecedented epidemic outbreak has swept through the world, the negative views of the American public towards China and President Xi Jinping have continued to grow. Pew Research shows that economic factors, such as job losses to China and the trade deficit, remain key concerns for the American public. But other issues \u2013 including Chinese human rights policies and environmental degradation \u2013 also worry Americans. Many of these issues play a role in how the public views China more broadly: Those who see the China-related topics included in the study as a serious problem generally have less favorable views of China overall.<\/p>\n
These worries shift people views, resulting that now\u00a0more Americans now see the U.S. as the world\u2019s leading economic power than at any time over the past 12 years, even though the majority of Americans disapprove how Trump has managed this crisis<\/a>.\u00a0In fact, Americans now see the U.S. as more of an economic powerhouse than China by roughly two-to-one (59% vs. 30%). Americans also overwhelmingly believe their country leads the world militarily and that the world is better off with U.S. leadership as opposed to that of China.<\/p>\n Pew data shows views of China have soured further in 2020, building on the\u00a0dramatic uptick in negativity seen between 2018 and 2019<\/a>. Roughly two-thirds of Americans now have a negative opinion of China, the highest percentage recorded since Pew Research Center began asking the question in 2005. Only about a quarter in the U.S. report a favorable attitude.\u00a0Older Americans, those ages 50 and older, are more likely than those ages 18 to 29 to have unfavorable views of China.<\/p>\n Confidence in Chinese President Xi Jinping has also continued to decline, as roughly seven-in-ten Americans (71%) say they do not have confidence in Xi to do the right thing when it comes to world affairs \u2013 a high since the Center first asked the question. Just 22% say they have faith in the Chinese leader, down 15 percentage points since last year.\u00a0The drop in confidence from 2019 to 2020 is especially notable.\u00a0About nine-in-ten U.S. adults see\u00a0China\u2019s power and influence as a threat<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 including 62% who say it is a\u00a0major<\/em>\u00a0threat.<\/p>\n When asked whether various issues involving China pose a problem for the U.S., at least two-thirds of Americans say each is a serious concern for their country.\u00a0Topping the list is China\u2019s impact on the global environment. A majority (61%) says China\u2019s environmental footprint is a very serious problem for the U.S., a 10 percentage point increase from when the question was last asked in 2018. (China was recently estimated to emit\u00a0roughly 30%<\/a>\u00a0of the world\u2019s total amount of carbon dioxide but produces fewer greenhouse gases per capita than the U.S. does.) Those who see global climate change as a major threat are 28 points more likely than those who do not see global warming as a threat to be\u00a0very<\/em>\u00a0concerned with China\u2019s environmental impact.<\/p>\n As the U.S. keeps its market closed to the Chinese\u00a0telecommunications giant Huawei<\/a>\u00a0and raises alarms about the\u00a0security of Chinese technology<\/a>, about half of U.S. adults (47%) are concerned about China\u2019s growing technological power.\u00a0Americans are similarly concerned with cyberattacks from China. A majority of 57% say this poses a very serious problem to the U.S.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.ceo-na.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/1-2.png\")
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