Poll: 84% of Filipinos prefer economic ties with US over China

MANILA, Philippines — Majority of Filipinos prefer having strong economic ties with the US rather than China, according to a survey by Washington-based Pew Research Center.

The poll released December 5 found that 84% of Filipinos named the US as the world's leading economic power while 59% answered China.

Pew noted that those who identify the US as the world's leading economy are more likely to prefer stronger economic ties with the country.

A separate survey from Pew also showed that 64% of Filipinos said they rely on the US as a dependable ally in the future while only 9% chose China.

In terms of views on China's growing economic stature, Filipinos have mixed views.

The same Pew survey revealed that 48% of Filipinos said China's growing economy is a bad thing while 47% said it is a good thing.

Filipinos are also divided on investment from China as 49% said it is a bad thing while 45% said it is a good thing.

Generally, in the Asia-Pacific region, more countries tend to see investment from China as a potential liability as it gives Beijing too much influence over their economies.

"These same countries are also more likely than others to see U.S. economic influence in their country positively. And, when it comes to developed countries, views of China are much more mixed to negative," the report read.

The study also noted that countries in the Asia-Pacific region tend to be generally negative in their views of China.

In the Philippines, the percentage of those who have a favorable view of China dropped from 63% in 2002 to 42% in 2019.

The Pew survey was conducted among 38,426 people in 34 countries from May 13 to October 2. A total of 1,035 adult respondents were surveyed in the Philippines using face-to-face interviews, with the margin of error at 4.3 percentage points.

"For results based on the full sample in a given country, one can say with 95% confidence that the error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus the margin of error," the think tank said.

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Filipinos see US as top ally, China as greatest threat — poll