U.S. and European Public Opinion on China

Publics in Europe and the United States believe the global balance of power is shifting away from the North Atlantic toward East Asia. They see a China whose economic influence is on the rise while growth in the United States and Europe remains sluggish after five years of financial crisis. However, China’s growing geo-economic stature has not led to more positive sentiment toward the People’s Republic. For both Europeans and Americans, this is likely the result of unease about China as a commercial competitor that can economically supplant the United States, and a belief that Beijing would prefer not to take the interests of others into account in its foreign policy.