U.S. poll: Americans' sense of threat from China has declined since Trump took office, and support for Taiwan protection has dropped to 38%

Shen Rongqin, an associate professor at York University in Canada, shared today (22nd) that the American non-profit organization "Chicago Council on Global Affairs" released a survey on American citizens' response to sending troops to defend Taiwan and changes in their attitudes towards China. It shows that since Trump's second term in office, the proportion of people who believe that China poses a threat is declining, and the support rate for the United States to send troops to protect Taiwan has also declined.

Shen Rongqin shared the poll released by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs this afternoon and sorted out 6 key points. First of all, Shen Rongqin pointed out that judging from this poll, Americans' favorability towards China fell to the bottom in 2024. However, after Trump took office, Americans' attitudes towards China improved significantly in 2025, with support for the Democratic Party improving even more than Republicans. This year has continued last year's trend, and the improvement is better than last year.

Second, Americans advocate containing and containing China. The peak is also in 2024, with 55% in favor, but 40% also advocate contacting and cooperating with China. However, this number will begin to flip in 2025. This trend continues to increase this year, with 40% advocating containment and containment of China, and 57% advocating contact and cooperation with China. Among them, those who support contact and cooperation with China the most are Democratic supporters, followed by median voters. Republicans have the lowest rate, but the number is also increasing.

Third, the United States’ sense of threat from China is declining. Shen Rongqin said that overall, this poll shows that only 40% of Americans believe that China’s territorial ambitions pose a major threat to the United States. This downward trend is reflected in all party groups.

Fourth, as the proportion of people who believe that China poses a threat has declined, the number of people who support using the U.S. military to defend Taiwan from Chinese invasion has also declined. Today, only 38% of Americans are in favor of doing so, down from the peak of 52% in 2021. This trend also occurs across all party groups.

Fifth, Republicans who support Trump's "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) are still hawkish on China, while other Republicans have turned dovish. Although the overall Republican stance on China has softened after Trump visited China in May and reached a tariff and commodity purchase agreement, this conceals the differences within the Republican Party between MAGA supporters and non-supporters. A majority of non-MAGA supporters (57%) now favor engagement and cooperation with China, while only 36% of MAGA supporters hold the same view. In contrast, MAGA supporters still tend to actively contain the growth of China’s power (63%, compared with only 42% of non-MAGA supporters).

Sixth, there is a difference in support rates between the two major parties in the United States for defending Taiwan. Liberals within the Democratic Party (Liberalism, representing the party's center-left stance) are more inclined to defend Taiwan (44%) and support the use of U.S. troops when Taiwan is invaded by China; moderate or conservative Democrats (Conservative Democrats) support sending troops to protect Taiwan at 26%. By comparison, Republicans are narrowly divided on the issue.

Shen Rongqin finally added that this poll also revealed that the degree of respect China receives from the world has increased, while the degree of respect the United States receives from the world has declined. This is consistent with the results of polls conducted by various countries after Trump took office.