Support for China Falls Dramatically in European, Indian Polls

by Lawrence Kadish
May 26, 2020 at 1:00 pm

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16063/poll-support-for-china

Lawrence Kadish.

A soon to be released international survey finds that when the COVID-19 virus finally burns itself out its biggest victim may be the very country that launched the pandemic —China.

Bluster, bullying, and propaganda launched by China's leadership to subdue international criticism of their handling of COVID-19 is only stoking the anger among nations as diverse as the U.K., Germany and India, according to data revealed during a comprehensive poll conducted by the firm McLaughlin & Associates.

They may not embrace the White House on any given issue but when it comes to China, a large and significant number of those polled in this global COVID-19 survey would now support economic sanctions, confronting China's strategy to achieve global dominance by controlling worldwide access to technology, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and more.

What can only be described as a diplomatic earthquake is the emerging political fault line along China's southern border with India.

The McLaughlin poll found that a majority of voters in the world's largest democracy, some 54%, believe China hid key COVID-19 details, resulting in more damage by the pandemic, and 78% believe China knowingly kept data from the international community.

And it gets worse for Beijing. As many as 85% of Indian voters believe China should be held accountable with 88% approving of an investigation of not just China but the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding what did they know and when did they know it.

More than three time zones away, in Germany, a significant majority, 69% of voters polled, say China has not been open or honest about COVID-19, and more than a third say there is little doubt China hid key details regarding its origins or spread. In the U.K. seven out of 10 voters, or 68%, say China kept data about the virus from the world.

In Germany, 61% of the voters believe China should be held accountable while in the U.K., 81% of those voters polled said the Chinese government should be held accountable with 20% of those United Kingdom respondents suggesting one response should be lawsuits by families impacted by COVID-19.

Some 26% proposed diplomatic actions, and 38% believe economic actions would be the best response.

When asked whether they would support changes in diplomatic and economic relations with China if it was revealed that that regime withheld information, more than half of the Germans polled, 54%, said yes.

A stunning 80% said their nation needs to end its dependence on China and 71% believe Germany should withdraw manufacturing investments. In the UK 74% of the respondents were prepared to change their relationship with China following COVID-19.

The only good news for a China intent on diminishing America's role as a 21st century superpower is that a majority of those surveyed abroad believe China's COVID-19 induced economic tremor has impacted America's global leadership, a goal the Chinese dare not accomplish through military means, no matter how many additional nuclear weapons they seek to place in their growing arsenal.

That response reflects a tacit acknowledgment that China's handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, whether deliberate or otherwise, has allowed it to win a public perception battle without firing a shot.

It also reveals what the White House already knows; this is a defining moment for China, its relationship with the United States, and those nations the Chinese intend to place under their economic thumb.

This poll will compel Beijing to consider a stark truth. Their offer of billions in health aid to those nations suffering from COVID-19, coupled with an extensive media/diplomatic blitz that threatens those brave enough to question their actions, is a complete failure.

In fact, the global survey documents a rising awareness of the existential threat from a China that has not only infected the world but seeks to hold the keys to the medical and economic remedies our world needs.

We will recover from COVID-19. Our nation has withstood far worse.

What America needs now is to hear these overseas voices of outrage over China's treachery and respond with the bipartisan political will to confront the real danger: a regime that will use the chaos of COVID-19 to acclerate their strategy of dominating the 21st century as the world's sole superpower.

Lawrence Kadish is a real estate developer, entrepreneur, and founder and president of the Museum of American Armor.

This article, originally published by Newsmax, is reprinted here by the kind permission of the author.

Appendix: Survey Methodology

McLaughlin & Associates conducted 3 separate and unique surveys in the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, and Republic of India. Surveys in the United Kingdom and the Federal Republic of Germany were both conducted among 1,000 likely national election voters, each. The survey conducted in the Republic of India was conducted among 2,000 likely national election voters. All surveys were conducted from May 8th through May 17th, 2020

All interviews were conducted online; survey invitations were distributed randomly within predetermined geographic units for each country. These units were structured to correlate with census populations for each individual country. Respondents in India were given the choice to take the survey in Hindi or English. The United Kingdom survey was conducted in English; and the survey in the Federal Republic of Germany was conducted in German.

The accuracy of the sample of 1,000 likely national election voters in the United Kingdom and the Federal Republic of Germany is within +/- 3.1% at a 95% confidence interval. The accuracy of the sample of 2,000 likely national election voters in the Republic of India is within +/- 2.2% at a 95% confidence interval.

The full poll results for the Kadish article on our European and Indian polls are found here.

John McLaughlin has worked professionally as a strategic consultant and pollster for over 35 years. During this time he has earned a reputation for helping some of America's most successful corporations and winning some of the toughest elections in the nation. His political clients have included former Presidential candidates Steve Forbes and Fred Thompson, former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal and 22 current and former U.S. Senators and 21 current Republican members of Congress. In 2016, John worked as an advisor and pollster for Donald Trump from the primaries through Election Day. Their firm currently polls for the Trump Pence re-election campaign.

Jim McLaughlin is a nationally recognized public opinion expert, strategic consultant and political strategist who has helped to elect a U.S. President, Prime Ministers, a Senate Majority Leader, and a Speaker of the House. Jim has worked for over 70 members of Congress, 14 U.S. Senators, 10 governors, numerous mayors and scores of other elected officials. Read Jim McLaughlin's Reports — More Here.

© 2024 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Related Topics: China, Coronavirus, India

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Comment on this item

21 Reader Comments

Ramki • May 30, 2020 at 12:53

Speculation about the virus has spread almost as quickly as the pandemic. The World is still unclear on the origins of Coronavirus. Whether it originated in one of China's "wet markets", as some other viral disease have in the past, or in a bio-weapons laboratory we may never know. What we do know is that when the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control offered to help, China ignored them. The virus originated in Wuhan, spread to rest of China, then to the world and it was China that first notified the WHO though by then it was too late. China is trying to defuse the responsibility and it is now circulating counter-theories of how other nations started the disease. In the meantime the rest of the world in lockdown and is heading for economic ruin. Technologies like releasing bacteria embedded mosquitoes or genetically tweaked mosquitoes are a reality already. Consequently use of infectious agents or tweaked virus-bacteria that attack animals or humans is also a reality

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Henry • May 27, 2020 at 10:29

America's leadership and dominance is going to die unless it gets rid of the leftist scourge. The left are invidious allies to the Chinese regime, which is their role model.

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Anne Green • May 27, 2020 at 10:28

When will the government of China bring in strict laws regarding the way food is handled in markets? It is truly horrible the way cats and dogs and other wild animals are killed and prepared for human consumption with no form of hygiene,

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H B SUBRAHMANYAM • May 27, 2020 at 09:10

Trump is right; it is China Virus. China manufactured it and marketed it with a motive ruin the economies.

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Stephen • May 27, 2020 at 06:01

Hooray. But the anger needs to be translated into action. There is singularly little outrage from world leaders except Donald Trump and Australia, and I don't hold out too much for any investigation from the United Nations into Chinese accountability for the death and havoc they have caused. A value cannot be put on the death of one person let alone hundreds of thousands but even so the economic damages and suffering for the world population must run into trillions of USD. The amount of 2 billion USD offered by China is an insult. Global dependency on the Chinese Communist Party must be removed. Surely ??

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Anne Green

Stephen • May 27, 2020 at 10:43

Couldn't agree more; we must refuse to buy Chinese goods. Clothes can be manufactured in our own countries and not China, so we may have to pay more but surely that is a good price to pay. Trump is right to call it a Chinese virus because that's what it is. It will take at least two generations probably more for economies to recover.

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mac • May 27, 2020 at 03:22

We can all start as I have in refusing to purchase Chinese goods, if enough people throughout the world do this, it could severely affect their economy.The CCP are very dangerous at the moment, with Trump concentrating on the election & the virus outbreak, & his inflated ego, they are using his lack of attention to world affairs to engage in all sorts of mischief, as well as trying to deflect the causes of the Corona virus outbreak to others, when all the evidence points to their own inefficiency, or was it planned this way?

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Maureen Westrick

mac • May 28, 2020 at 11:45

I, too am avoiding buying anything made in China. Not only because of the pandemic, but also due to the inferior quality of things made in China! I miss seeing Made in USA, cannot wait until the greedy manufacturers return to this country!

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Apple of Adam • May 27, 2020 at 01:46

When the US economy sneezes, the economies of other nations catch pneumonia. The Chinese economy is likewise negatively impacted. It is not inappropriate to demand that China pay reparations to all affected. However, getting a coalition together of affected nations to line up behind the US and speak in unison against China demanding reparations is like having the force of gravity pulling objects upwardly.

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L • May 27, 2020 at 01:35

I have a worrying thought which may be biased. Why use conventional weapons if you can do the same with a virus?

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Jon • May 26, 2020 at 19:58

Meanwhile Chinese cyber attacks against USA / Global vaccine research facilities and UK universities and third party suppliers continue unabated. Usual state lies and denials, that caused the pandemic in the first place! More Chinese lies and broken promises as their destruction of democracy in Hong Kong continues, as a prelude to the same in Taiwan. The rampant Chinese militarisation of the South China Sea increases as they crave confrontation as an excuse to trigger communist ownership and expansion. So. What's the plan?

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Stephen

Jon • May 27, 2020 at 11:51

Good question !!

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Ron Thompson • May 26, 2020 at 18:21

This is very important information and I hope the polling is accurate. The best way to capitalize on the anti-Chinese government sentiment - both the immediate problem of how their mishandling of the earliest Covid 19 outbreaks contributed to its becoming a planetary plague and the deeper problem of China's imperialist attempt to dominate world commerce and key supply lines, would be co-ordinated or at least in-parallel actions by the United States and other developed and non-authoritarian countries.
This means Trump should back off any further insulting behavior toward countries who have been our allies for most of the past 75 years. Also, all engaged in this effort to hold the Chinese Communist government accountable should be careful to distinguish between the Chinese people and their increasingly authoritarian government. In turn this means renewed and stronger support for both Hong Kong and Taiwan.

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John Braeman • May 26, 2020 at 17:08

The level of anti-Red China sentiment in Germany reflects the Merkel government's double-dealing.

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Adrian Appley • May 26, 2020 at 17:01

I do not believe China's government will ever admit being responsible for the pandemic. They are frightened of losing business over it. They are disgusting.

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MarWes • May 26, 2020 at 16:37

What mars this otherwise very good article is the worn-out description of India as "the world's largest democracy." The all-pervading corruption, police brutality, extreme poverty beside extreme wealth, election fraud, dictatorship (Indira and Rajiv Gandhi), forced sterilizations - should I go on? If this is democracy, God help us all.

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Sylvia Drummond • May 26, 2020 at 15:22

How would the sanctions work? What form would they take and how effective would they be?

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David Emery • May 26, 2020 at 15:21

The US economy is going to boom back as soon as the democrat governors are overruled and end their extended lockdowns they hope will damage Trump's chances for reelection. The Chinese economy will sustain a massive hit. The future holds a few major surprises that few people envision and nobody is talking about.

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Carl B • May 26, 2020 at 14:23

Let's hope this sentiment stays and turns the trend around, no more bowing down to China and no more outsourcing of production and jobs to its often slave like work environment.

What's a paradox, is that the staggering economic consequences will affect the world outside of China the most. And China may very well be the only creditor with enough money to bail out the US and grow its national debt.

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Sylva

Carl B • May 27, 2020 at 09:32

Walmart's, Target's and other major outlets' goods are almost exclusively Chinese made. We want to bring industries back to the US? Commendable. However, without lowering wages, prices and rents, nothing of that sort would ever happen. Our wages are too high, prices too high, rents exorbitant in big and mid-sized cities, and the unions' clamor for even higher wages and benefits preclude a true rearrangement of proportional production with China. If we REALLY want to bring back the giant American industrial base of yesteryear we'll have to make major structural adjustments. What's more, competition with China a would also entail constant invention of new science, industries, processes and innovation and a very closely held, vicious guarding of the new procedures and industrial processes. The new doctrine: "if you steal our intellectual properties, be they industrial, artistic, scientific, etc. IT'S WAR, not necessarily hot, but other forms of it, period." Short of these tenets, we'd be toast in a few decades. Unrealistic? You all tell me.

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Stephen

Sylva • May 27, 2020 at 12:17

Correct. Too much high wealth and powerful interests are beholden to China for any significant structural adjustments to be likely. Capitalism and open societies are at a great disadvantage and easy target for totalitarian regimes like the Chinese Communist Party. But it must start with supply chains of vital national interest such as pharmaceuticals and intellectual property. Surely ??

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