The latest Economist/YouGov data reveals a clear partisan divide on the U.S.'s relationship with China. Among Democrats, 36% advocate for closer ties with China, while only 22% of Republicans share this view. Conversely, a more distant relationship is favored by 46% of Republicans, compared to just 20% of Democrats.
The poll also finds that 60% of Republicans perceive China as an "enemy," almost as many as say the same about Russia (65%).
When it comes to perceived threats from China, the poll also shows that Republicans are more likely than Democrats to see various forms of major threats from China. The technological threat of China is seen as immediate and serious by 29% of Democrats and 54% of Republicans. While 21% of Democrats view China as an immediate and serious economic threat, 47% of Republicans do. Similarly, 19% of Democrats see China as an immediate and serious military threat, compared to 37% of Republicans.
Despite these political differences and perceived threats, majorities of both Republicans and Democrats acknowledge that at least half of the material goods they have purchased in the past few years were made in China. This far exceeds the shares of those who believe that at least half of their purchased goods were made in the U.S. Nearly two-thirds of Americans (64%) agree that U.S. products are generally more expensive than foreign products, including 61% of Democrats and 71% of Republicans.
See the toplines and crosstabs from the Economist/YouGov poll conducted on June 17 - 20, 2023 among 1,500 U.S. adult citizens.
Methodology: Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel using sample matching. A random sample (stratified by gender, age, race, education, geographic region, and voter registration) was selected from the 2019 American Community Survey. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given prior to November 1, 2022, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (33% Democratic, 31% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 3%.
Image: Adobe Stock (Maxim)
