Trade disputes — not China's surging military strength — are the top concern of Americans, a comprehensive annual survey released Wednesday on the public image of China in the United States has shown.
The survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center, comes as Washington and Beijing have slapped tariffs on goods from their respective countries, prompting the trade disputes to dominate relations between the world's two biggest economies.
Although tensions over trade are hardly new, the poll indicates that they have intensified under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, giving rise to less positive American attitudes toward China over the past year. Overall, 38 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of China, down slightly from 44 percent in 2017, according to the survey.