CGTN Poll: U.S. aggressive foreign policies draw criticism

"Rename" the Gulf of Mexico, "reclaim" the Panama Canal, "buy" Greenland... The new U.S. administration says it "does not rule out the use of military and economic coercion" for "territorial expansion." According to a global online survey conducted by CGTN, 78.6 percent of the respondents strongly condemn the new U.S. administration's territorial expansion agenda, calling it a blatant act of domineering, bullying and hegemony.

The new U.S. administration wants to unilaterally rename the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America" and take control of the Panama Canal. In the survey, 66.4 percent of the respondents believe that the U.S. made the name change decision without consulting the countries around the Gulf of Mexico, undermining the geographical and cultural traditions and challenging the authority of the United Nations. 

Some 83.7 percent of the respondents criticize the U.S. plan to take control of the Panama Canal as an act of aggression against Panama and a serious violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Trump also has proposed buying Greenland. In the poll, 86.4 percent of the respondents believe that the U.S. government's territorial expansion intentions harm the interests of allies and undermine the relationship between the U.S. and its allies.

In the survey, 72.3 percent of respondents believe that the U.S. territorial expansion plans are aimed at safeguarding the interests of American global hegemony. "Hegemony should be pushed back no matter what narrative and rhetoric Uncle Sam uses," one netizen commented.

The new U.S. administration has shown a strong ambition to "redraw the map of the Western Hemisphere," and 82.1 percent of the respondents worry that this portends a more aggressive "America First" policy as well as a more aggressive foreign policy. As many as 84.9 percent of respondents criticize the U.S. government's territorial expansion plans for exacerbating global tensions and undermining regional peace and world stability.

The poll, published by CGTN in English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Russian, received responses from 7083 people within 24 hours.