Poll: Most Say a Republican Will Handle Growing Threat of China Better than Biden

Most likely general election voters believe a 2024 Republican presidential candidate would be better suited to handle the growing threat of China than President Biden, a Convention of States Action/TrafalgarGroup survey released Thursday found.

The survey found most, 62.7 percent, identifying China as an “adversary” of the U.S., while 26.9 percent identified it as a “competitor.”

There appears to be bipartisan consensus on that topic, as 53.2 percent of Democrats, 70.5 percent of Republicans, and 66.2 percent of independents identify China as an “adversary” rather than a “competitor.”

The survey also asked respondents who they believe would be more effective in dealing with the “growing threat of China” — one of the Republican presidential candidates, or President Biden. 

Most, 61 percent, said one of the GOP candidates would be better suited to handle the growing threat of China, while just one in five, 20.7 percent, chose Biden. Another 18.3 percent remain unsure. 

Biden failed to garner a clear majority from Democrat respondents, as 38.3 percent said Biden would more efficiently handle the growing threat of China. Over one-third of Democrats, 36.6 percent, said that job would be handled better by a GOP presidential candidate, and a quarter of Democrats remain unsure. 

Predictably, the vast majority of Republican respondents, 88.3 percent, believe a 2024 GOP candidate would handle the China threat better, and a majority of independents, 53.4 percent, feel the same way. 

The survey was taken February 22-26, 2023, among 1,082 likely general election voters and has a +/- 2.9 percent margin of error. 

The survey comes roughly a month after the U.S. shot down a Chinese spy balloon after it made its way across the coast of the continental U.S.:

Just shot at it! View from my house in Myrtle. pic.twitter.com/85EZ3EDbYq

— Ashlyn Preaux for SC 61 (@ashlynforsc) February 4, 2023

A February Harvard Caps/Harris survey found  a majority finding that Biden “acted too slowly” in taking down the balloon. 

Some Republicans, including Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), have continued to highlight Biden’s weakness on China. 

“All that Biden does is pacify China,” Scott said during an appearance on ABC’s Cats Roundtable. I don’t know what it is, but this is a guy who won’t stand up to dictators around the world.”

The continued criticism and skepticism surrounding Biden’s handling of China comes over a year after Breitbart News senior contributor Peter Schweizer revealed that the Biden family scored $31 million in deals with individuals directly tied to Chinese intelligence in his book Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win.