Public Agrees With Senate Approval of China Trade Measure

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ – In an overwhelming bipartisan vote yesterday, the Senate approved permanent normal trade status for China. The House passed the legislation earlier this summer. Many observers consider this to be Bill Clinton's most important foreign policy achievement since the North American Free Trade Agreement was passed in 1993. Gallup asked America about this legislation in May and found that 56% of Americans favored Congress passing a law that would normalize trade relations between China and the United States while 37% opposed the law.

Although the issue had split politicians along party lines until very recently, there is no major difference in support for the measure between rank and file Democrats and Republicans nationwide -- certainly not on the order found in other contentious issues. Republicans and those independents who lean Republican favor the measure by a 55% to 41% margin. Democrats and those independents who lean Democratic favor the measure by a 58% to 33% margin. Thus, while Republicans are a little less enthusiastic than are Democrats, a majority of Americans of all political persuasions favor the bill.

Despite the ease with which the China legislation passed, it has been an extremely controversial topic for years. Critics of the decision argue that because China has a poor record on human rights issues, the U.S. should deny the country the benefits of a normal trade relationship. Proponents have asserted that freer trade will lead to more communication between the countries, which will lead China to improve its record on human rights. As noted above, a majority of Americans approve of this type of legislation in general. But, when given a choice between increasing trade with China now or waiting until the Chinese government gives its citizens more freedoms, 62% of the public said the U.S. should wait on China to make improvements before changing their trade status. At the same time, when asked which policy goals were more important for the U.S. to take a strong stand on human rights in China, or for the U.S. to maintain good relations with China, 54% of Americans thought that maintaining good relations with China was more important while 34% thought that taking a stand on human rights was more important. This trend has reversed over the past three years: In 1997, 59% of Americans said taking a stand on human rights was more important while 37% said maintaining good relations with China should take precedent.

Survey Methods

The results below are based on telephone interviews with two randomly selected national samples of 1,011 and 1,032 adults, 18 years and older, conducted May 18-21, 2000 and May 23-24, respectively. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

Would you favor or oppose Congress passing a law that would normalize trade relations between China and the United States and that would allow China to join the World Trade Organization?

Which of the following statements comes closer to your view -- -- [ROTATE: The U.S. should increase trade with China NOW, because doing so will promote more economic, political and religious freedoms in that country, or the U.S. should NOT increase trade with China until the Chinese government gives more economic, political and religious freedom to its citizens]?

Which of the following policy goals do you view as more important – [ROTATE: for the U.S. to take a strong stand on human rights in China, or for the U.S. to maintain good relations with China]?

(vol.) Volunteered response