A telephone survey of 1,468 people, conducted from May 15-28 by the Pew Research Centre, shows that public alarm about China has not increased in spite of the recent rise of tension over the EP-3 spy plane incident and US arms sales to Taiwan.

The survey also suggests that the majority of Americans are opposed to any US commitment to defending Taiwan, despite President Bush's recent remarks that the United States would do "whatever it took" to help defend the island if China were to use force against it.

The proportion against US military involvement in Taiwan, the poll shows, stands at 64 percent, 11 percentage points up from a poll in March 2000, while the proportion supporting the US commitment to defend Taiwan has dropped to 26 percent from 31 percent in March 2000.

More than half of those surveyed cast doubt on US policies aimed at changing China. Instead, 59 percent consider maintaining good relations with the world's most populous nation is more important than promoting democracy and human rights.

According to the poll, more than half of both Republicans (51 percent) and Democrats (53 percent) say that China is a "serious problem but not an adversary," and only one in five think of China as an "adversary."

The survey shows that 48 percent of the people think relations between the United States and China are "about the same," while 40 percent think relations are "getting worse."

Even though many people acknowledged relations between the two countries have deteriorated, the proportion who see China's emergence as a world power as a threat to the United States has not risen over the past two years.

"More Americans identify many other threats, both traditional and new, as major threats, including Saddam Hussein's continued rule in Iraq, the spread of weapons of mass destruction, new missile threats, international terrorism, and the rapid spread of infectious diseases," said Morton H. Halperin, a senior research fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations.

(Xinhua 06/13/2001)