Americans see China more positively than at any point in the nearly three decades, according to a new survey.
Fifty percent say they view China favorably in the Gallup poll out Thursday, while 44 percent say unfavorably. Those are the best numbers for China since February 1989, when Gallup found 72 percent saw China favorably.
Months later, the Chinese government violently cracked down on pro-democracy protests at Tiananmen Square, sending China’s favorability in the U.S. plummeting to 34 percent by the end of 1989.
President Trump has repeatedly pledged a tougher position with China on issues ranging from currency manipulation to global trade.
{mosads}Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said Thursday he is undecided on whether he will label China as a currency manipulator, as Trump promised during his 2016 presidential campaign.
“We have a process within Treasury where we go through and look at currency manipulation across the board, and we’ll go through that process,” Mnuchin told CNBC. “We’ll do that as we have in the past, and we’re not making any judgements until we continue that process.”
Trump had vowed to label China a currency manipulator on his first day as president, but he told The Wall Street Journal before his Jan. 20 inauguration he hopes to talk with China’s government first.
Gallup conducted its latest survey of 1,035 U.S. adults via cell and landline telephone interviews from Feb. 1-5. It has a 4 percent margin of error.