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 has 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.