China is once again playing second fiddle to the United States when it comes to economic power in the eyes of the public.
A survey from Gallup showed adults living in the U.S. view the country as the leading economic power in the world for the first time since 2000. Half of the respondents listed the U.S. as the global economic front-runner, while 39% listed China.
For the past two decades, respondents named China as the global economic leader.
The results are a positive sign for President Trump, who often touts the strong economy as he seeks reelection this year.
China has been losing ground to the U.S in the Gallup survey throughout the economic recovery from the 2009 recession. In 2018, China held a narrow lead with a difference of just 2 percentage points. From 2010 to 2016, more than 50% of adults in the U.S. listed China as the planet’s economic leader.
China’s favorability also dipped to a record-tying low at 33%. This continued a two-year trend where China’s favorability plummeted from 2017 when 53% of respondents held a favorable view of the nation.
Democrats historically hold a more favorable view of China than Republicans, and the opinion of independents resides somewhere between the two parties. The latest polling, however, showed independents holding China with higher regard than either political party.
Since December, China has been struggling to contain the coronavirus outbreak that started in Wuhan. The virus, along with Trump’s trade war and concern over Huawei, could have contributed to Gallup’s results.
The same poll asked respondents to list the greatest enemy to the U.S. Russia narrowly edged out China on this question, 33% to 32%. Republicans chose China in larger numbers than Democrats, who more often chose Russia. Iran, North Korea, and Iraq rounded out the top five nations listed as America’s greatest enemy.
The poll featured responses from 1,028 adults living in the U.S. with a margin of error of 4 percentage points. It was conducted Feb. 3-16.
