New Harris polling has revealed a hardening of Americans’ views on China and how the Chinese Communist Party should be dealt with on the back of the coronavirus outbreak.
Eighty-six percent say their opinion of a company improves if that “Company promises to relocate their manufacturing away from China and back to the United States”.
That’s higher than the 84% who back company executives forgoing salaries, bonuses, or other compensation.
Seventy-two percent of Americans do not believe China was accurate in its reporting on the coronavirus, while nearly three quarters of voters say they are in favor of Trump’s tough trade policies as they relate to China.
Just over half (54%) of Americans believe China should be required to pay other countries for the spread of the virus, while just 17% of voters think President Trump should soften his position on China. Fifty percent say he should get tougher, while 33% say his position should stay the same as it has always been.
Asked if American companies should continue to manufacture goods in China, 71 percent of Americans said American corporates should pull back, while just 29% say they should continue in China.
Finally, asked if it is proved that China falsely reported on cases and deaths related to the coronavirus, 37% of Americans believed President Trump should unilaterally impose sanctions and 43% said Congress should vote on sanctions.
Just 19% said no action should be taken.
The numbers were also drilled into by the Washington Post‘s Josh Rogin, who reported:
Ninety percent of Republicans said the Chinese government is responsible for the spread of the virus, compared to 67 percent of Democrats. Only 22 percent of Republicans and 34 percent of Democrats said they thought the Chinese government reported their coronavirus statistics accurately.
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…71 percent of Republicans responded that China should pay other countries in some way for the damage done because of the outbreak, only 41 percent of Democrats felt that way.
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A firm majority of Republicans, 66 percent, said Trump should take an even tougher position on China than he currently does. Among Democrats, 38 percent said Trump should be tougher, 23 percent said he should be softer and 38 percent said he has it about right.
It’s clear that while the World Health Organization and others continue to run interference for China, the American public is not so shy about calling out the evident wrongdoing by the CCP.
