Donald Trump has Americans worried about China, but other countries don't seem as concerned

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pew us china economic power

Pew Research Center

Europeans are increasingly naming the United States - not China - as the world's top economic power.

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Of sixteen major countries polled in a Pew Research study, only people from France, Canada, and Australia were more likely to place China above the US.

The results are a striking departure from the feelings of Americans, many of whom are concerned about China's economic might.

According to another Pew poll taken last year, people were more concerned about China's economic power than its cyberattacks or its growing military presence. Americans are particularly worried about the amount of US debt held by China as well as the possibility of losing jobs to Chinese workers.

More recently, anti-China sentiment has been drawn into the spotlight by presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, whose claims that the US is losing power to China have become a central tenet of his campaign.

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But it appeared that other major countries around the world weren't as concerned. In fact, they viewed the U.S. more positively, on the whole, than they saw China.

Asked to compare the two countries' favorability, only people from Greece gave China a higher rating.

pew us vs china favorability

Pew Research Center

Barack Obama also earned relatively high ratings. His second lowest confidence rating (behind Greece) was from Americans themselves, 40% of whom say they had no confidence in their president.

However, the study noted that Americans are split pretty evenly along party lines - 92% of Democrats said they are confident in the president, while only 21% of Republicans were.

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pew confidence in obama

Pew Research Center

But, it looks like America's next president might not have it so good. A lower percentage of people had confidence in presumptive Democratic nominee and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, while just a tiny slice of respondents had a positive opinion of Donald Trump.

pew clinton trumpc confidence ratings

Pew Research Center

And while many respondents associated Americans with positive adjectives, like "optimistic" or "hardworking," a large portion called Americans "arrogant," "greedy," or "violent."

pew adjectives americans association

Pew Research Center

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The Pew survey was conducted over the telephone and during face-to-face interviews. It was based on national samples.

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