Why Gen-Z Americans view China differently

为什么Z世代美国人看待中国的方式不同

The Point with Liu Xin

2026-06-03

25 分钟
PDF

单集简介 ...

A recent poll reveals a striking divide in how Americans view China. While many older Republican-leaning voters see China as an enemy, most Democratic-leaning voters view China as a competitor. Even more surprisingly, younger Democrats are increasingly likely to see China as a partner rather than an adversary. What explains these sharply different perspectives? How much do Americans really know about China? And what can be done to bridge the gap in understanding between the world's two largest economies?
更多

单集文稿 ...

  • Through an overload of information to get to the heart of the story.

  • This is The Point.

  • According to a recent poll, there is a deep divide in how Americans view China.

  • The majority of older Republican-leaning voters, for example, view China as an enemy,

  • while the majority of Democratic-leaning voters see China as a competitor.

  • Younger Democrats, however, rather than see China as an enemy, are more likely to see China as a partner.

  • How do you explain this huge gap in perceptions?

  • How well do Americans really understand China and what can be done?

  • To improve mutual understanding.

  • Welcome to this special edition of The Point, an opinion show coming to you from Beijing.

  • I'm Lu Xin, and joining me today from Beijing, we have Ben Norton, editor-in-chief of Geopolitical Economy Report,

  • also from Beijing, Hanhua, co-founder and secretary-general at the Beijing Club for International Dialogue.

  • And from Boston, the United States, Professor John Quelch, Executive Vice Chancellor at the Duke Kunshan University.

  • The warmest welcome to all of you.

  • Professor Quelch, let me start with you.

  • In your general impression, how well or how poorly do Americans know China?

  • Thank you for having me.

  • Well, of course, America knows China much less well than China knows the United States

  • because the flow of visitors and students over many, many years has been really asymmetric.

  • Many more coming to the U.S., and many staying in the U.S. and contributing to the U.S. economy,