Surveys of US public opinion and German investor sentiment point to the wisdom of China’s strategic composure
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenWei WeiWei Wei is the former chief correspondent of the Eurasian bureau of China Central Television, based on Moscow, covering events in the states of the former Soviet Union. Published: 9:30am, 17 May 2026Three polls firmly caught my attention over the past month or so. Each was conducted by a different outlet and addressed different questions. However, taken together, they tell one overarching story – implicitly, but unmistakably. Beyond an assortment of data, the story is about direction.
What stayed with me wasn’t just the numbers. It was the mood around them: a sense that economic anxiety in the United States is no longer cyclical, but settling into something more persistent, almost structural.
It’s still a minority view in the US. But it suggests something subtle: when domestic pressure rises, perceptions of other countries can begin to recalibrate.
