The latest Harris Interactive poll says a significant number of Americans believe China will be stronger economically than the U.S. in 10 years, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. In addition, the poll shows that many Americans think China’s strength may pose a threat to U.S. interests.
The online poll of 1,822 adults indicates that about 70 percent believe China will become an economic superpower before 2015 and 42 percent think China will be stronger than the U.S. Only about 41 percent say Japan will be an economic superpower, followed by the European Union (31 percent), United Kingdom (25 percent), India (20 percent), and Russia (15 percent). Just under half of U.S. adults think no countries or regions will be stronger than the U.S. in 10 years.
Poll results suggest that Americans are most concerned about the impact China’s economic strength may have on the U.S. economy. More than a third of those polled say they are very or extremely concerned, and more than half say China will have a negative effect on the future of the U.S. economy. In addition, more than half of those polled are very or extremely concerned about China becoming militarily stronger.
