Americans are starting to think more positively about China, according to new polling from the think tank Third Way shared with Semafor. Since 2023, the share of Americans who view China as an “enemy” dropped by seven percentage points, while the share who see it as an “ally or trade partner” grew by eight percentage points.
A majority of respondents also said they wanted to cooperate and find “areas of agreement” with China, up from 32% in 2023. Third Way conducted the poll in May, after Trump had begun his first round of aggressive tariffs on Beijing. “Americans aren’t softening on China because they hold the country and its leaders in high regard,” read a memo accompanying the poll. “But they have become more aware of the role China plays in their daily lives and, as a result, have become more hesitant to use blunt force.”