Many in U.S., Canada View China as Threat

[cire4]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050611/ap_on_re_us/china_fears

WASHINGTON - China's growing political power and influence on the world economy has many people in North America concerned, polling suggests. Substantial numbers of people in Canada and the United States worry that China's emergence is a threat to world peace and worry about China's impact on the economy in their own countries.

Two-thirds of Americans and half of Canadians say they fear that "China is a serious threat" to jobs in their own countries, according to polling done by Ipsos-Reid. Just over half of Americans, 54 percent, and nearly half of Canadians say they are concerned about the level of Chinese investment in their countries.

<<snip>>

As China gains economic and political clout internationally, a sizable group of people in both Canada (42 percent) and the United States (31 percent) said they agreed with the statement that "China will soon dominate the world."

[HEyHEY]

1. We SHOULD be concerned the Canadian government sends them aid

For some fucked up reason

[Maple]

2. No, that's been changed

For the first time ever, China is now providing foreign aid, and ours has been cut back accordingly.

[Maple]

3. You will also note:

"Seven in 10 Canadians said they thought expanding Canada's trade with China would be a good thing because it would reduce dependence on U.S. goods."

[Erika]

4. China is too valuable as a trading partner and debt holder

to be seen as the enemy.

[sasquatch]

5. Janeane Garafalo had predicted this would happen

You see China has put in a bid to buy the Unocal pipeline in Afghanistan and this is pissing off the Bush Crime FAmily.

[Daphne08]

6. Economic threat today. Military threat tomorrow.

Just my 2 cents.

[daleo]

7. They move from talking about China being a threat to peace

To people's stated concern, which is that economic low-wage competition is a threat to jobs. Two very different things.

[Baclava]

8. 1,306,313,812

That's a whole lot of fucking going on.

[ckramer]

9. "a sizable group of people in both Canada (42 percent) and..."

"...the United States (31 percent)"

Who are these people?

[0007]

10. At the rate the U.S. is going, it will soon be eating rice and running

around the countryside in rickshaws & bicycles. The main land will be threatened and perhaps even bombed by Hawaii. Our biggest fear. :sarcasm:

[gorbal]

16. Hey, China owns our ass

I wonder if anyone realizes the role the Bush administration has played in helping to expand China's powers.

The horrible example that the US has been presenting around the world is directly to blame for the shift of foreign investment to China, the loss of many of our natural allies, and I am sure it has helped the spread of socialism around the globe by showing in no uncertain terms the horrors of capitalism.

Now that we are deep in the hole and China is buying up our dept like a kid at the candy store,... I really am starting to get a hankering for rice.

[ckramer]

11. Everytime when Iraq isn't doing very well

we got news of terrorists alerts or china threats...nice try...

[sweetheart]

12. Many are the ignorant masses

China has attacked no nation in the last 50 years outside Tibet.
The US, however has attacked scores of nations. It really is the
ultimate irony that the most warlike, aggressive nation on earth
is paranoid that a nation it has attacked and fought by proxy in
multiple wars is a claimed aggressive threat.

It shows the level of propaganda media and popular formenting of hatreds
by media companies seeking a soviet threat as a last resort sort
of check-and-balance on sick american militarism.

Canada is paranoid, IMO, for different reasons, namely immigration.
A HUGE influx of chinese canadians threatens the old french/english
national identity, and surely this asian influence is causing a sort
of xenophobia amongst the old media-school, that will externalize the
threat and brainwash the masses to see it as "china" when in fact,
it is vancouver.

[Kipling]

13. Dominate the world?

I'm not so sure. China still has huge economic problems. It will almost certainly be the world's biggest economy one day, but it won't be all-powerful. I'd expect - and welcome - a multipolar power structure in, say 25 years with the USA, EU, and China all roughly equal.

[Spazito]

14. Hmmm, I sure haven't seen any polls showing undue concern

from Canadians regarding China. As a matter of fact, Canada now has 'most favored' status in China which will increase the number of visiters from China in a major way.

It is interesting that China is competing with the US with regard to investment in our oil industry as well as others so, in reality, there is no difference.


These two points are certainly true from what I hear from others:

"Bricker said Canadians view increased trade with China as a way of balancing Canada's current reliance on the United States."

"Seven in 10 Canadians said they thought expanding Canada's trade with China would be a good thing because it would reduce dependence on U.S. goods."

I found the pdf of the full poll and it is very interesting. Here are a couple of points not included in the article:

Most Canadians (60%) and half of Americans (47%) feel their country is a "loser" from free trade.

Here is the link to the survey, it is very interesting to read in it's totality, imo:

http://wwics.si.edu/news/docs/Ipsos-Reid%20Canada%20-%20US%20Poll%20%20FINAL.pdf

[donsu]

15. I don't view China as a threat - never have

China doesn't dream of ruling the world, it's the criminal bushgang that wants to rule over oil, gas and water.

China will protect themselves and rightly so.