Among U.S. thought leaders, 69% believe the best approach toward China on the economy is to use multilateral agreements and rules to pressure China to change its economic policies.

CSIS | Thought Leaders Q22

By the Numbers

69%
of U.S. thought leaders believe the United States should use multilateral agreements and rules to pressure China to change its economic policies.
19%
of U.S. thought leaders think the United States should decouple from the Chinese economy to protect important U.S. industries and technologies.

Only 19% think the United States should decouple from the Chinese economy to protect U.S. industries and technologies. This is strikingly consistent with the one-fifth of the American public and Asian and European leaders who favor complete decoupling. Moreover, it suggests that 80% across all polls favor continued economic interaction with China.

Business leaders in our focus group discussions agreed that there is consensus on the importance of pursuing multilateral approaches but also noted that allies and partners in Asia and Europe define that agenda differently, highlighting the importance of coordination with like-minded countries.

Members of the human rights and labor communities are most interested in decoupling from China.

Only 3% of thought leaders overall think the best approach is to rely on the market to discipline Chinese behavior, which one focus group participant labeled a "fool’s errand" given the vast size of China’s market.