New Survey Indicates Mutual Perceptions of Hope & Fear among Americans and Chinese

A newly-released survey by the Committee of 100 — conducted in both the United States and China from August 18-September 19, 2007 — reveals that American and Chinese mutual perceptions can be best described as a paradox of hope and fear. On one hand, a majority of citizens in the U.S. and China generally hold positive views of each other; both countries broadly recognize the importance of U.S.-China relations and sense their increasing economic interdependence. On the other hand, a strong majority of Americans view China’s growing economic and military power as a serious or potential threat, and nearly half of the Chinese feel that the U.S. is trying to prevent their country from becoming a great world power.

The full report is available via the Web site of the Committee of 100