US sees generational gap over China policy

A generational shift in US public attitude toward China may signal a long-term change in how Washington interacts with Beijing, according to a newly released survey.

Conducted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, US broadcaster NPR and market research firm Ipsos, the survey found that younger people in the United States were less likely than older generations to view China as a threat.

"Younger Americans have come of age in a more interconnected world shaped by digital exchange and cross-border education, where social media trends have made engagement with Chinese culture increasingly ordinary," survey authors Craig Kafura and Debi Jin wrote.

While only 43 percent of Millennials and 34 percent of Generation Zers viewed China's development into a world power as a "critical threat" to the US, the share was 62 percent among Boomers and 56 percent among Generation Xers.

The survey defines Boomers as those born from 1946 to 1964, Generation X as 1965 to 1980, Millennials as 1981 to 1996, and Generation Z as 1997 to 2013.

Ashley Breinholt, a student at Brigham Young University in Utah, said "young Americans should learn about China because it can open your mind to global awareness".

"It can open your mind to a whole other country and culture that's different from our own, but also very similar," Breinholt told China Daily.

Ilaria Luna, a Harvard student who studied at East China Normal University on an exchange program, said the experience had helped her form her own views.

"I know what the news tells us in the US about China and the things that they want us to feel and believe," she said. "But coming (to China) and being able to form my own opinions and experience the people and the kindness and the warmth has been really, really important."

Not surprisingly, a majority of Generation Zers and Millennials, 59 percent and 58 percent respectively, favored a policy of friendly cooperation and engagement with China, compared with 48 percent for both Boomers and Generation Xers.

Millennials and Generation Zers also strongly opposed higher tariffs and restrictive policies targeting Chinese students.

While 86 percent of Boomers and 85 percent of Generation Xers believed China wants to become the world's "dominant power", fewer than two-thirds of Generation Zers agreed.

"Younger cohorts are instead more open to the possibility that China's desired global role might be more collaborative, or that China may not want any leadership role in the world," the authors wrote.

Significantly, one-fourth of Generation Zers said China poses no threat to the US at all, compared with 16 percent of Millennials, 11 percent of Generation Xers and 4 percent of Boomers.

The survey highlighted broad agreement on reducing tariffs on Chinese imports in exchange for increased US agricultural exports, as well as on prohibiting US companies from selling sensitive high-tech products to China.

However, "on other restrictive measures, intergenerational splits become more evident", the authors wrote.

While older generations favored limiting the number of Chinese students studying in the US — 56 percent of Boomers and 63 percent of Generation Xers — a majority of Millennials and Generation Zers, 65 percent and 64 percent respectively, opposed such restrictions.

"As generational replacement continues and younger generations make up a larger proportion of the electorate, that gap between the assumptions driving Washington's China policy and the attitudes of the public it answers to may widen, raising real questions about what kind of relationship with China the next generation of Americans will want," the authors said.

The survey of 1,025 respondents across a range of demographic groups was conducted from March 13 to 15.