As the Obama administration takes to the W.T.O ahead of the presidential election, political analysts Richard Wike and Bruce Stokes discuss the gulf between expert and public views of China from the U.S., based on recent Pew polling. From CNN:
[… W]hen asked which country represents the greatest danger to the U.S., more Americans volunteer China (26 percent) than name any other country, including Iran and North Korea. And about half (52 percent) view China’s emergence as a world power as a major threat to the U.S.
[…] Nevertheless, the public is divided on what to do about China: 28 percent want the next president to build a strong relationship with Beijing, 24 percent want him to be tough with China on economic and trade issues.
[…] But, for the most part, foreign affairs experts are far less concerned than the general public about issues related to China. Less than half of the retired military officers and less than a third of the other experts view China’s emergence as a world power as a major threat to the U.S.Fewer than four in ten say the loss of U.S. jobs to China, the U.S. trade deficit with China, China’s growing military power and China’s policies on human rights are very serious problems for the U.S.
