CGTN Poll: Global respondents believe U.S. suffers more in tariff war

Recently, the United States has introduced a new wave of tariff measures targeting China and global trade, seriously undermining the world's free trade system. A global public opinion survey conducted by CGTN shows that most respondents believe the U.S. will ultimately bear greater losses from the tariff war, and they urge all countries to take firm, coordinated countermeasures.

Since the China-U.S. economic and trade talks in Madrid in September, Washington has resumed tariff coercion against China and rolled out a series of new restrictive measures – including threats to impose 100 percent tariffs on Chinese goods and additional port service fees on China-related vessels. 

According to the survey, 67.7 percent of respondents believe the U.S. will suffer greater losses from the tariff war, compared with 8.9 percent who think China will be more affected, and 23.4 percent who expect damage to both sides. Moreover, 92.5 percent of respondents view the U.S. approach as showing a clear lack of sincerity in resolving trade frictions – criticizing his contradictory stance of calling for talks while simultaneously threatening new restrictive measures.

Since the start of this year, the United States has continued to escalated its tariff pressure, with more than 70 percent of countries and regions facing the risk of U.S. tariffs. In the survey, 94.4 percent of respondents condemned Washington's long-standing practice of broadening the concept of national security to justify export controls and discriminatory measures, saying such actions harm global interests and disrupt supply chain stability.

On China-U.S. economic and trade issues, respondents largely agree that both countries share broad common interests and vast room for cooperation. They believe both sides should make full use of consultation mechanisms and steer their economic ties toward healthy, stable and sustainable development. 

According to the findings, 88.4 percent of respondents think China and the U.S. should resolve their differences through dialogue and consultation on the basis of mutual respect and equality. Meanwhile, 87 percent believe China-U.S. economic and trade relations are fundamentally mutually beneficial – cooperation brings shared gains, while confrontation harms both. Another 84.4 percent note that stronger China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation not only benefits both economies, but also provides a key safeguard for the stability of global industrial and supply chains.

The CGTN poll – published in English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Russian – gathered 6,572 responses within 24 hours.