Rise in Republicans wary of China as bipartisan agreement lessens, new survey says

Name: China rebukes US for causing ‘unnecessary panic’ with remarks on rare earth controls
Uploaded: 2026-01-28T22:51:15.000Z
Duration: 1 min 41 s
Description: China rebukes US for causing ‘unnecessary panic’ with remarks on rare earth controls

Report found two-thirds of Republicans now likely to view Beijing as a threat to US, compared with 44 per cent of Democrats and Independents

Reading Time:3 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

A new report that highlights deepening political polarisation in the United States towards China attributes much of it to US President Donald Trump’s tariff regime. Photo: AP

Lucy Quagginin New York

Published: 6:51am, 29 Jan 2026Updated: 7:47am, 29 Jan 2026

Republicans in the United States increasingly oppose friendly cooperation with China, according to a new survey released on Wednesday, marking a major break with past decades.

The report titled “The Growing Partisan Divide on US Foreign Policy”, published by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and drawing on 50 years of comparative data, found that respondents in the increasingly partisan US are sharply split on how Washington should deal with Beijing.

Bipartisan agreement on the topic has sharply declined, the analysis found, with a 16-point gap now separating Republicans and Democrats when asked to rate their feelings toward China, the largest in half a century.

However, there has also been a softening in opinions toward China, 53 per cent of Americans want friendly cooperation – although heavily tilted toward Democrats and Independents, up from 40 per cent in 2024.

“This is the first time since 2019 that a majority of Americans have preferred a policy of cooperation and engagement with China,” said Dina Smeltz, the council’s managing director of public opinion and foreign policy. “This shift is primarily driven by Democrats’ change in opinion.”

01:41

China rebukes US for causing ‘unnecessary panic’ with remarks on rare earth controls

In addition to being asked to rate their feelings on China and on wanting friendly cooperation, respondents were also asked whether they viewed the country as a critical threat to the US.

Rise in Republicans wary of China as bipartisan agreement lessens, new survey says

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Report found two-thirds of Republicans now likely to view Beijing as a threat to US, compared with 44 per cent of Democrats and Independents

Report found two-thirds of Republicans now likely to view Beijing as a threat to US, compared with 44 per cent of Democrats and Independents