57% of Americans Back Friendly Ties With China, Poll Finds
A majority of Americans say the United States should pursue friendly cooperation and engagement with China, according to a survey released on the eve of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington. The Chicago Council on Global Affairs found that 57 percent of the public favors cooperation and engagement, while 40 percent prefer actively limiting the growth of China’s power.
Context
The 2026 Chicago Council Survey, fielded July 10-21, continues a warming trend in US public opinion that began in 2024, when views of China hit an all-time low. The findings arrive as Xi prepares to meet President Donald Trump at the White House on September 24 for a formal state visit—only the second of Xi’s tenure, after his 2015 visit under President Barack Obama.
The relationship has shifted markedly in recent years. According to the Xinhua News Agency, which reported on the survey, the share of Republicans favoring engagement rose to 43 percent, up from 33 percent in 2025—the highest level since 2019.
Key Findings
Americans now rate China at 39 on a 0-100 feeling thermometer, up from 26 in 2024 and the highest reading since 2020. The improvement spans partisan lines: Democrats rose to 45 from 29, Independents to 42 from 27, and Republicans to 31 from 20.
Perceptions of threat have eased in tandem. Just 41 percent of Americans see China’s territorial ambitions as a critical threat, down from 52 percent in 2022. Only 32 percent view China’s economic competition as a critical threat, unchanged from 2024. Should China invade Taiwan, 38 percent favor using US troops—down from a peak of 52 percent in 2021.
The survey also exposes a sharp divide within the Republican coalition. While 57 percent of non-MAGA Republicans favor engagement, only 36 percent of MAGA Republicans do; conversely, 63 percent of MAGA Republicans favor limiting China’s power versus 42 percent of non-MAGA Republicans. Democrats across the spectrum back cooperation, at 72 percent of liberals and 64 percent of moderates and conservatives.
“There’s not a bipartisan consensus among the public in favour of a competitive containment approach,” Craig Kafura, the Council’s public opinion and foreign policy director, told the South China Morning Post. “If Americans were really hawkish on China, I think that would bode poorly for stability.”
Analysis
Several forces appear to be driving the shift. Disapproval of the second Trump administration’s tariff policies is one: a March 2026 Chicago Council-NPR-Ipsos survey found Americans saw tariffs on China as bad for the Chinese economy (72 percent), the US economy (66 percent), and their own cost of living (76 percent). A declining sense of China as a threat is another.
Beijing has framed the upcoming visit in optimistic terms. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that “head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China-US relations,” adding that the two leaders’ mutual visits within half a year carry “historic milestone significance,” according to the official announcement of the trip.
One sensitive backdrop looms over the summit: the fate of a $14 billion Taiwan arms sale that Trump postponed after his May 2026 meeting with Xi in Beijing. Trump has previously described Taiwan arms sales as “leverage” in US-China relations.
What’s Next
The Chicago Council report suggests the shifting public mood could have political consequences, noting that the November 2026 midterm elections “could be especially consequential for US-China policy.” Should Democrats win control of one or both chambers of Congress, the report argues, the public’s growing preference for engagement may begin to reshape US policy toward Beijing.
For now, the survey offers a snapshot of an American public that is cooler toward confrontation than it has been in years—a shift that both capitals will be watching as Xi arrives in Washington.