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Stunning Majority of Americans Blame China as Tens of Thousands Die, New Survey Finds
Chinese and American flags (Frederic J. Brown/AFP)
Over two-thirds of Americans believe Chinese government “responsible” for the spread of the coronavirus pandemic; 71% call for penalties
Just 6% of Americans view China as a U.S. ally
Rising hostility to China rivals USSR during the Cold War
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) today released polling results in partnership with internationally recognized research and data firm YouGov from 1,382 representative U.S. respondents ages 18 and older.
“We sensed a rising skepticism of China’s claims regarding coronavirus, but it wasn’t until this poll that we saw the full extent by which a majority of Americans directly blame the Chinese government. Since the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan at the end of last year, the PRC government has continually lied and deceived the global community,” says Marion Smith, VOC’s Executive Director. “The Chinese Communist Party’s lack of transparency, lapses in communication, and spread of misinformation rapidly escalated the spread of the virus and hindered preventative measures on a global scale. These are numbers that are akin to how Americans viewed the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Like the showdown in Hong Kong, the coronavirus pandemic has revealed the irresponsible and predatory behavior of the CCP in much the same way that the Soviet’s 1948 blockade of Berlin revealed Moscow’s threat to peace and prosperity. We seem to be in the opening stages of a global effort to counter the CCP’s ambitions, and it has security, economic, and ideological dimensions. Clearly, the American people understand this better than some of our political elites.”
The poll’s findings include the following:
- Over two-thirds of Americans (69%) view the Chinese government as either “somewhat” or “very responsible” for the spread of the coronavirus.
- Roughly half (51%) support the Chinese government paying countries affected by the pandemic.
- Two-in-three (67%) view China as either a competitor or enemy in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Only 6% view China as an ally.
- Over four-in-ten (43%) have a more unfavorable opinion about the Chinese government as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
- 71% believe China should be “penalized” for the coronavirus pandemic. More specifically:
- 41% believe there should be international sanctions.
- 33% believe there should be additional tariffs on Chinese products.
- 32% believe the U.S. should refuse to pay interest on Chinese-held U.S. government bonds.
- 25% believe Chinese government officials should be banned from travel to the U.S.
The full polling results are available here.
Methodology
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1382 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 6th – 7th May 2020. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all U.S. adults (aged 18+).
