Poll: 65% Americans Hold China Accountable for Spread of the Coronavirus

The majority of Americans hold China accountable for the spread of the novel coronavirus and indicated that they plan to take concrete steps to demonstrate their protest of China, a Piplsay poll released Tuesday found.

Piplsay surveyed 30,415 adults nationwide from July 4-6 and found that the vast majority now place blame at the feet of China.

Sixty-five percent of respondents said their perception of China has changed in the midst of the pandemic. Of those, 44 percent said “they  [China] could have stopped or contained the pandemic spread,” and one-fifth, 21 percent, said China “created this crisis intentionally.”

Slightly over one-third said their perception of the communist country had not changed, stating that “they [China] also suffered the consequence like the rest of us.”

Strikingly, only 20 percent of those who said their perception of China has changed attributed the change in their thinking to influence from the media. Most Americans, 61 percent, attributed their shift to their “own understanding of events.” Only 19 attributed their shift to President Trump’s criticisms of China.

As a result of these changing attitudes, 66 percent of those surveyed said they “plan to take steps to register” their protest against China.

One-fifth of respondents said they already stopped buying “made in China” products, and 14 percent said they “have already stopped buying” Chinese products or brands. Another eight percent said they have refrained from using Chinese apps, and nearly one quarter, or 24 percent, said they plan to take steps “soon.”

Sixty-one percent of respondents also believe that the U.S. should reduce its trade dependency on China, at least to “some extent.”

The survey’s margin of error was not immediately available.

The U.S. formally severed ties with the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) last week following President Trump’s warning, accusing the organization of working with China to hide the severity of the outbreak from the onset.

“China has total control over the World Health Organization, despite only paying $40 million per year compared to what the United States has been paying, which is approximately $450 million a year,” Trump said in a May address.

“We have detailed the reforms that it must make and engage with them directly, but they have refused to act,” he continued, announcing his decision to sever ties with the UN-backed organization.

“The world needs answers from China on the virus. We must have transparency,” he said, later adding, “The death and destruction caused by this is incalculable.”

“We must have answers not only for us but for the rest of the world,” the president said.