Most Americans believe that China is already an economic power and its international influence is expanding. At the same time, they also feel that Trump's tariff war does more harm to America's national interests and personal interests. These two things are actually complementary. The growth of China's strength will inevitably reduce the chances of victory in America's tariff war against China, and their wishful thinking won't work.
According to a report by China Review News Agency, a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in late March among more than 3,600 American adults found:
More than 70% of Americans believe that China's international influence is growing. In just one year, Democrats have overtaken Republicans in the likelihood of viewing China's growing international influence. Last July, 78% of Republicans and 68% of Democrats thought China's international influence was expanding. This year, the proportion has flipped to 71% for Republicans and 75% for Democrats.
The percentage of people who think China is the leading economic power has dropped from 45% among Republicans last year to 32% this year, while it has risen from 33% among Democrats to 43%. The percentage of people who think China is the leading military power has fallen from 22% among Republicans last year to 13% this year, while it remains unchanged at 16% among Democrats. The change in how both parties view China's strength may be related to the shift in party governance. People who tend to support the ruling party usually have a better opinion of their own country's strength, while those who lean towards the opposition party emphasize the strength of competitors more.
As the Trump administration imposed tariffs on China with a cumulative increase of up to 245%, Americans' attitudes towards the tariff war and trade war seem subtle. Although 46% of Americans believe that China benefits more from US-China trade, only 25% think both sides benefit equally, and 10% think the US benefits more, they generally doubt the effect of tariffs. Overall, 52% of Americans believe that tariffs on China are bad for America's national interests, and 53% believe they are bad for their personal interests. Only 24% and 10% respectively think they are beneficial.
There is a clear divergence of opinions between the two parties regarding the benefits and drawbacks of the tariff war. Among Democrats, 80% believe that tariffs will harm America's national interests, and 75% believe they will harm their personal interests. Among Republicans, only 17% believe that increasing tariffs on China is personally beneficial to them, but 44% tend to believe it is beneficial to America's national interests. Those who believe that the US benefits more or both sides benefit equally from US-China trade tend to think that the tariff war does more harm to America's national interests and their personal interests.
Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1830065812396228/
Disclaimer: The article solely represents the author's viewpoint.