A recent poll conducted by Third Way and reported by news platform Semafor reveals a significant and indeed momentous shift in American public sentiment toward China.
Third Way, a centrist think tank headquartered in Washington known for advancing moderate policy ideas within a polarized political landscape, collaborated with Semafor. This digital media outlet emphasizes clarity and global awareness. The findings, drawn from a comprehensive survey conducted between May 1-8, offer an unusually candid glimpse into the changing perceptions among American voters. The data show that from 2023 to 2025, the proportion of Americans who support cooperation and identifying areas of agreement with China rose from 32 percent to 52 percent. In contrast, those who advocate for “standing up” to China dropped from 60 percent to 43 percent. This is not a marginal statistical trend but a profound shift in the underlying assumptions that have shaped American foreign policy discourse for years.
This transformation is best understood not as a triumph of goodwill but as a reluctant correction in the face of mounting evidence. The narrative of China as an adversary, pushed by American policymakers and media institutions in recent years, is being challenged not because Americans have suddenly developed admiration for China but because they are increasingly aware of China’s indispensable role in their own daily lives as well as in global affairs. The economic interdependence that binds the two nations has grown too strong and too complex to ignore. China is deeply integrated into the supply chains that support American industries, ranging from consumer electronics to pharmaceuticals.
The American public, once conditioned by politicians and the Western mainstream media to view China through a prism of suspicion, is now beginning to recognize the material consequences of antagonism. They are starting to grasp that Washington’s economic aggression dressed up as patriotism delivers more harm to their standards of living than to the intended target. This growing awareness is a sign of the public’s increasing enlightenment.
The US has stretched its military across continents, drained its resources in endless conflicts, and alienated potential partners through arrogance and interference. Meanwhile, China has focused on building roads, ports, and scientific research centers. It has contributed to peacekeeping missions, invested in clean energy, and extended partnerships to nations often overlooked or mistreated by Western powers. The contrast is not merely one of style but of substance.
This growing awareness amounts to a quiet repudiation of the political class that has promoted confrontation over cooperation. In the past decade, American leaders have cloaked their economic insecurities in the language of national defense, using China as a convenient scapegoat for their own policy failures.
The tariffs implemented under the Trump administration, for instance, were justified as protective measures but, in practice, inflicted harm upon American consumers and manufacturers alike.
They raised the cost of goods, disrupted supply chains, and invited retaliatory measures that further strained bilateral ties. The American public is beginning to see through this deception. The current shift in public opinion suggests that more Americans now see cooperation as a rational alternative to self-destructive policies rooted in outdated Cold War thinking.
This recalibration of public opinion also signals a more profound crisis within the ideological foundations of American exceptionalism. For generations, the United States has positioned itself as the moral and economic beacon of the world, a self-appointed guardian of liberal democracy. Yet it is China, not the US, that has demonstrated the capacity to lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, construct transcontinental infrastructure, and offer genuine alternatives to predatory financial arrangements. China’s governance model, grounded in long-term planning, meritocratic selection, and national cohesion, contrasts sharply with the shortsighted electoral cycles, legislative gridlock, and corporate lobbying that dominate American politics. The emerging American recognition of China’s success and global contributions challenges the assumption that only one path to development and stability exists.
Furthermore, the decline in confrontational attitudes within the US exposes the limits of fear-based foreign policy.
For years, American elites have relied on a strategy of demonization, exaggerating threats to justify military spending, surveillance expansion, and overseas interventions. That strategy is beginning to unravel under the weight of public skepticism. The fact that a majority of Americans now lean toward cooperation with China is not merely a change in sentiment; it is a significant shift in perspective.
It reflects an erosion of the uncritical trust once placed in Washington’s foreign policy establishment. The shift reveals a growing appetite for diplomacy and mutual respect, even if it remains unspoken or inarticulate. For China, this is a validation of its consistent message that peace, not dominance, is the prerequisite for global progress.
This change in American public opinion also has the potential to disrupt domestic political alignments in the US.
The bipartisan consensus on opposing China, sustained for years by perceived “threats”, may no longer be politically tenable.
Politicians who continue to pursue aggressive policies risk alienating a public that increasingly views such actions as counterproductive. American voters are beginning to question the logic of confrontation with a country that has never invaded their territory, never imposed sanctions on them, and never interfered in their elections. As the American electorate becomes more informed, it opens space for more rational voices to enter the political discourse. This shift provides China with an opportunity to continue offering cooperation without compromising its principles, to deepen cultural and economic ties with those willing to engage sincerely, and to strengthen its role in promoting a multipolar global order. This potential for change is a reason for hope.
The poll data also reflect a subtle but decisive indictment of American foreign policy itself. The tools of coercion, such as sanctions, military presence, and ideological pressure, have not only failed to diminish China’s standing but have also backfired domestically. The US has stretched its military across continents, drained its resources in endless conflicts, and alienated potential partners through arrogance and interference. Meanwhile, China has focused on building roads, ports, and scientific research centers. It has contributed to peacekeeping missions, invested in clean energy, and extended partnerships to nations often overlooked or mistreated by Western powers. The contrast is not merely one of style but of substance. The poll results suggest that more Americans are beginning to understand that authentic leadership in the international system does not come from threats but from actions.
The poll is more than a statistical development. It is a crack in the mirror that America has long held up to the world to see. That mirror once reflected a vision of order and leadership, but it now reveals something else entirely. It shows the image of a nation grappling with its contradictions, a public inching toward reason, and a system that can no longer hide behind its myths. For China, this is not a moment to seek validation from the West but to affirm its path, to continue engaging with the world from a position of dignity, and to remain steadfast in its pursuit of peace, development, and shared prosperity.
Virginia Lee is a solicitor, a Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area lawyer, and a China-appointed attesting officer.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
