China not a major threat, US surveys say

A series of US surveys showed that the majority of US citizens do not see China as a major threat.

Newly released polling data from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs indicated that although many in the United States think the rise of China is an important concern, it ranks lower than many other global problems, The Washington Post reported on Friday.

Fifty percent of Americans say China is mostly a partner, both the Chicago Council's polling on China and Pew's surveys of US views of China have found.

A Pew survey showed that 49 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds in the US view China favorably, while 72 percent of Americans think China is more important than it was a decade ago.

Questioned about why public opinion differs from the view of some in US government leadership who view Beijing as Washington's biggest threat, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Thursday that "the survey precisely showed that most Americans would like to see a sound and stable relationship with China and hope to strengthen cooperation and communication with China".

China is willing to continue enhancing dialogue and mutual trust with the US, and deepen cooperation as well as properly handle differences, Hua said at a news briefing.

In another development, the US embassy in China said on Wednesday that Washington will not send high-level officials to participate in the China International Import Expo, and demanded that China level the playing field for US goods and services.

The US has the right to decide who to send to the expo, Hua said. But, she said, while constantly demanding that China open its markets, the US has no plan for participation when Beijing opens its door to welcome foreign guests. That, she said, "is contradictory and confusing".

The event is the world's first imports-centered national expo, which fully demonstrates China's willingness to share its development opportunities with the world, and its sincerity, goodwill and confidence in opening-up, she said.

The first China International Import Expo is scheduled for Nov 5 to 10 in Shanghai. It has attracted more than 2,800 companies from 130 countries.

As many as 180 US enterprises such as Microsoft, Intel, General Electric and Disney have confirmed their attendance, ranking US companies third among participants, Hua said.

Many of the companies expressed their hope to use the expo as an opportunity to strengthen communication with China.

The expo is intended to bring more diversified and personalized choices to Chinese consumers, and build a platform to offer opportunities for high-quality and superior products from other countries to enter China, a huge consumer market with a population of nearly 1.4 billion, Hua said.