U.s. and China political and economic relations: The youths' perceptions

This paper is a study of the perceptions of young adults in the U.S. and China on the relations between the two nations and the growing role of China in the global economic environment. Past studies and surveys (such as Pew, Gallup, and the Committee of 100) have focused on either perceptions of experts or of citizens in each nation. The authors herein believe that it is important to get the perceptions of future generations in both countries to help understand and perhaps determine possible future direction of such relations. The authors, who have access to undergraduates in both nations in similar urban settings, NYC and Shanghai, developed a 19 question survey and distributed to 201 American undergraduate students (Pace University, NYC)and 164 Chinese undergraduate students (University of Shanghai Science and Technology, Shanghai). The questions probed their sources of news information, their view of U.S. and China’s economic and political systems, the future economic growth and political power in the world of the two nations and the future political and economic relations between the two powers.  The results of our study reveal a number of important perceptions that both U.S. and Chinese students have, some being similar and others being in sharp contrast.   Both groups named the Internet as their primary source of information about the U.S. and/or China, followed by television.   The vast majority of the American students have never been exposed to a course in U.S.-China economic or political relationships, while almost half of their Chinese counterparts have taken such a course.  Most of the U.S. students believe that China has been and will continue to grow at a much faster rate than the U.S.  Chinese students’ opinions exhibit much less uniformity.  Though they agree that China has been and will continue to grow at a much faster rate than the U.S., they are more likely to believe that this rate of growth is unsustainable. They also express that both nations will slow down but China will eventually catch up with the U.S.  Most students in both countries view future political and economic relations between the U.S. and China predominantly as cooperative but only based on each nation’s self-interests.   Both Chinese and American students agree that China is gaining political strength and economic influence among the advanced and the emerging nations of the world.  U.S. students are more likely to believe that the U.S. is still a dominant political figure in both the developed and emerging nations. We believe that the study provides valuable insights into the similarities and differences in viewpoints of the next generation of adults in both nations about future U.S.-China relations and China’s position as an economic and political superpower. It also suggests the need for creating greater opportunities to build a better understanding between the youth of the two societies and their futures.