Survey finds US public opinion shifting in favour of engagement with China

On the eve of this week’s summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Americans feel better about China, according to a poll released on Monday. They see Beijing as less of a threat, are less supportive of Taiwan and are more likely to favour engagement over containment than last year or in 2024, when views hit an all-time low.

As with almost everything in the US these days, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs survey revealed a partisan divide. And while the views expressed were less hawkish than in recent years, 40 per cent of Americans still supported limiting China’s power.

“There’s not a bipartisan consensus among the public in favour of a competitive containment approach,” said Craig Kafura, the Council’s public opinion and foreign policy director. “If Americans were really hawkish on China, I think that would bode poorly for stability.”

The survey found that 57 per cent of Americans favoured engaging with China, an increase from the all-time low in 2024 and the highest result in Council polling since 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. But it is still below the high mark of 68 per cent in 2019.