Pew: Most Asian Americans have unfavorable views of China, prefer Taiwan

July 19 (UPI) -- A new poll conducted amid rising tensions between mainland China and Taiwan, as well as with the United States, has found that most Asian Americans view China unfavorably.

The poll, conducted by the Pew Research Center, surveyed 7,006 Asian adults living in the United States over the course of six months from July 2022 to January 2023.

Pew has long researched the views of Americans on China and other Asian countries but has not highlighted the views of Asian Americans on such topics, according to the study.

The poll found that 78% of Asian adults in the United States view the nation unfavorably but just 20% view China favorably. Only 11% viewed the United States unfavorably while the majority, 52%, viewed China unfavorably.

Mainland China views Taiwan -- which it sees as officially part of the Republic of China -- and its 23 million residents as a wayward province and has vowed to retake it by force, if necessary. Many supporters of Taiwan have argued it is an independent sovereign state separate from China, which has never controlled Taiwan.

Of the respondents to the survey, 56% viewed Taiwan favorably while just 6% viewed Taiwan unfavorably.

Among the largest uncertainties was how Asians in the United States felt about Vietnam and the Philippines. Of the respondents, 51% said their views toward Vietnam were neither favorable nor unfavorable and 48% said the same about the Philippines.

Though, of those who took a stance, more respondents viewed Vietnam and the Philippines favorably. India suffered the most ambivalence with 33% viewing the nation favorably and 23% viewing it unfavorably with 41% neither favorable nor unfavorable.

When considering how Asians in the U.S. viewed their specific homelands, China suffered the most with just 41% of Chinese Americans viewing their homeland favorably. Meanwhile, 95% of those with Taiwanese heritage viewed the island favorably.

Unsurprisingly, Chinese Americans born in the United States are less likely than Chinese immigrants to have a favorable view of China. Chinese immigrants are somewhat less likely than those born in the U.S. to have a favorable view of Taiwan.

Despite their positive feelings for their homelands, a staggering 84% of Asian adults born in the United States said that they would not move to their ancestral homelands compared to 68% of foreign-born Asian adults.

Only a third of respondents thought China might become the leading economic power globally in the next decade.