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Poll shows US youth favor China engagement, reject restrictive policies; Washington’s China containment narratives lose traction: expert_我的网站

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一 |

Students from Lincoln High School and Steilacoom High School in the United States wait on Saturday at San Francisco International Airport in California for their flight to take them on a cultural-exchange journey to China. Photo: China News Service
A US public opinion survey indicated that most younger Americans don't see China as a critical threat to the US and favor a policy of friendly cooperation and engagement. A Chinese expert said that public sentiment demonstrates that narratives long constructed by certain US politicians to contain China's development have lost traction among young Americans, adding that, aided by social media, they are better able to form independent judgments about the reality of China's development.
Reflecting these generational shifts, data from a joint Chicago Council-NPR-Ipsos survey, conducted in the US from March 13 to 15, 2026, and the 2025 Chicago Council Survey showed that attitudes toward China are becoming increasingly differentiated across age groups, according to a report by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs on Wednesday.
This research covers four generational cohorts following standard cohort definitions. These include Baby Boomers born between 1946 and 1964, Gen X born between 1965 and 1980, Millennials born between 1981 and 1996, and Gen Z born between 1997 and 2013.
The report said younger generations consistently expressed less antagonistic and more flexible views on China's role in the world, as well as greater skepticism toward restrictive economic and social policies.
The survey showed that over the past two decades, younger Americans have consistently expressed "less concern about China's rise than older generations." Minorities of Millennials, at 43 percent, and Generation Zers, at 34 percent, view the development of China as a world power as a critical threat to the US, compared with majorities of Baby Boomers, at 62 percent, and Generation Xers at 56 percent.
China's sustained growth has injected positive impetus into global development, enabling the international community to more clearly recognize China's role as a contributor, Shen Yi, director of the International Research Institute of Global Cyberspace Governance at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Thursday.
Regarding views on China's global ambitions, the report said younger cohorts are "more open to the possibility that China's desired global role might be more collaborative."
Young Americans' attitudes toward China also signal that the full set of narratives long crafted by certain US politicians to contain China's development has lost traction among younger generations in the US, Shen said.
The report also noted that support for a US policy of cooperation and engagement with China has rebounded sharply from the lows of 2024.
Majorities of Generation Z, at 59 percent, and Millennials at 58 percent favor a policy of friendly cooperation and engagement with China, nearly 10 percentage points above the shares of Baby Boomers and Generation X who hold the same view.
"Younger Americans have come of age in a more interconnected world shaped by digital exchange and cross-border education, where social media trends have made engagement with Chinese culture increasingly ordinary," reads the report.
In January this year, creator @sherryxiiruii listed a series of distinct Chinese lifestyle habits in a viral TikTok video, and the playful "prophecy" sparked a global craze, gaining nearly 750,000 likes and sparked a top-trending hashtag #BecomingChinese, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Shen said that by bypassing screening and filtering by traditional US media, social media platforms provide ordinary Americans, particularly young people, direct access to the everyday lives of Chinese citizens and the realities of Chinese society, adding that this empowers them to "break free from an information landscape dominated by one-sided, skewed messaging."
Additionally, the report said Millennials and Gen Zers show strong opposition to restrictive policies targeting Chinese students, higher tariffs, and reduced trade overall. For example, 65 percent of Millennials and 64 percent of Gen Zers oppose limiting the number of Chinese students studying in the US.
Yet the policy direction of the US administration stands in stark contrast to the prevailing views. For example, the US National Science Foundation (NSF) in July announced its forthcoming policy prohibiting NSF funds from being spent on collaboration with entities on US restricted parties lists, which could effectively bar collaborations between NSF-funded US scientists and nearly all Chinese research institutions and their employees, US media reported.
Such a contrast also lays bare a notable disconnect between US policymaking and the genuine sentiments of ordinary Americans, as authorities seldom take public aspirations into account when rolling out relevant initiatives, Shen said.
In the short term, perceptions among younger generations cannot reverse Washington's existing restrictive policies toward China. From a long-term perspective, however, the more objective and amicable views of China held by today's youth carry irreplaceable positive value, the expert said.
。立秋过后，位于秦皇岛市北戴河新区的华北最大潟湖七里海，碧水丰盈，水鸟嬉戏。水岸上，修复后的植被郁郁葱葱，仿佛将这片湿地拥入怀中。

二 | 蓝绿交织间，尽显生态之美。这是北戴河新区践行“绿水青山就是金山银山”理念的生动缩影。潟湖，是指被沙嘴、沙坝或珊瑚分割而与外海相分离的局部海水水域。去年，七里海潟湖生态减灾案例入选自然资源部和世界自然保护联盟发布的《海岸带生态减灾协同增效国际案例集》。

三 | “近几年，丹顶鹤、白琵鹭、小天鹅等珍稀鸟类都回来了，来七里海潟湖拍鸟的人也越来越多。

四 | ”当地摄影爱好者费明健日前对记者说。

五 | 看着远处鸟儿飞翔、嬉戏、捕食，听着不时传来的鸣叫声，73岁的费明健感到很欣慰：“以前的七里海可不是现在这样，那时候过度开发，湖面大大萎缩，鸟儿也少多了。”就在十多年前，这里还是养殖池塘密布、水质恶化的另一番景象。

六 | 当地以传统海洋捕捞、滨海水产养殖和种植业为主，还有造纸厂等污染较重的企业，致使生态系统遭到破坏，也制约着滨海旅游业的发展。从2016年起，北戴河新区开始推进全域环境综合整治，大力实施海岸带生态修复，持续提升生态环境质量。秦皇岛市北戴河新区管委会副主任李鹏介绍，新区统筹污染治理、生态修复，系统实施蔚蓝、碧水、净土专项行动，全域淘汰燃煤锅炉、关停散乱污企业、封堵入河排污口，近年来国控河流、近岸海域水质优良率保持100%。依托“蓝色海湾”整治行动，实施七里海潟湖湿地生态保护修复工程，退养还湿、清淤疏浚、修复岸线，逐步恢复了水清树绿的生态湿地景观。修复后，七里海潟湖的水面扩大了，归来的鸟儿也多了。北戴河新区分两批清退了七里海内的养殖厂房、围堰等构筑物，使潟湖面积扩大至853.47公顷，是修复前的3倍。

七 | 区域生态功能得到改善，大型底栖生物个体密度平均值由修复前的每平方米20.71个增加到60.83个，鸟类由85种增加到165种。“每年10月至11月，丹顶鹤、白鹤会来七里海落脚觅食。12月左右，成群的灰鹤就会到这里越冬。

八 | ”费明健说，这个候鸟南迁路上的“补给站”越来越热闹了。生态治理好了，也带来了良好的经济与社会效益。

九 | 北戴河新区发展生态文旅、生态农业、现代海洋牧场等绿色产业，实现生态保护与产业富民良性循环，去年年底被生态环境部命名为“两山”实践创新基地。8月10日上午，蔚蓝天空下，阿那亚社区的白色礼堂临海而立，孤独图书馆面朝碧海，沙丘美术馆藏于金沙之间，游客们纷纷拍照打卡。阿那亚品牌中心媒介负责人袁梦瑜说：“很多客人第一次来是因为从网上看到的美图，但年年来，生态品质是重要原因之一。超七成回头客把‘自然环境优美、空气清新’列为重要理由。”利用海洋、沙滩、森林、湿地等生态资源，北戴河新区近年来推进大健康度假疗养产业项目近200个。北京游客张静每年都会和家人一起来北戴河新区避暑。她说：“蓝色的大海、金色的沙滩、白色的鸥鸟、绿色的槐树林……来七里海，来北戴河新区，就是来享受一场多彩的康养游。”今年1至7月，新区景区共接待游客175.09万人次，同比增长6.35%；景区门票收入同比增长14.01%。生态红利不仅流向景区和社区，也流进了海洋牧场和乡村土地。传统渔场转型现代化海洋牧场，4家单位获批国家级海洋牧场示范区，投放礁体超43.6万空方，投放各类苗种超5000万单位，海域生物多样性显著提升。生态农业品牌效应成效显著，“留守营大米”凭借醇香味道成为备受游客青睐的“伴手礼”。七里海鸥鹭翩跹、滨海景区游人如织、海洋牧场鱼虾成群……在北戴河新区，生态颜值正转化为富民价值，老百姓在守护绿水青山的过程中共享着发展红利。