TITLE:
Determinants of American Public Attitudes toward China: Evidence from the Pew Global Attitudes Survey
AUTHORS:
Jihui Zhao
KEYWORDS:
Attitudes toward China, American Polls on China, China-US Relations, Influence Factors, Public Opinions
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.14 No.6,
May
28,
2026
ABSTRACT: Against the backdrop of globalization and profound adjustments in the international landscape, the attitude of the American people towards China, as a “barometer” of Sino-US relations, is increasingly becoming a key factor in understanding the cognitive differences between the two sides. This study is based on the data from the Pew Research Center’s (2023) Global Attitudes Project survey, and uses a binary logistic regression model to examine associations between individual cognition, group identity, media exposure, and favorable attitudes toward China among the American public. Research has found that factors influencing American attitudes towards China include the comprehensive strength of both China and the United States, me-dia exposure, perception of strategic competition, satisfaction with democ-racy, and perception of Chinese overseas engagement. More positive evalua-tions of national power and greater media exposure are associated with fa-vorable attitudes toward China. Higher scores on perceived strategic compe-tition and Chinese overseas engagement are associated with lower odds of favorable attitudes toward China. These cross-sectional relationships do not establish causal mechanisms, and some findings are sensitive to the handling of missing values and class imbalance. Therefore, both China and the United States should strengthen cultural exchanges, enhance mutual understanding, weaken zero sum game thinking with common economic interests, and jointly recommend the return of bilateral relations to the right track.