Americans are turning away from Europe toward Asia, according to a survey released on Wednesday showing, for the first time, most US citizens thought China and Japan were more important to their national interest. |
Americans are turning away from Europe toward Asia, according to a survey released on Wednesday showing, for the first time, most US citizens thought China and Japan were more important to their national interest. The Transatlantic Trends survey found 51 percent of Americans felt Asian countries were more important to them than European Union nations, while only 38 percent thought the opposite. The new American focus was prompted by both interest in new business opportunities from Asia's booming economies and fear of growing competition from the Far East, said analysts. "What do people see on TV? ... Booming China, booming India, imploding Europe. It's natural to ask: Who do we want to align ourselves with?," said Bruce Stokes, a senior fellow from think tank the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GM) that published the survey. The findings were reversed the last time the survey asked a similar question. In 2004, 54 percent of Americans said Europe was more important to their country's "vital" interests, while only 29 percent said Asia was. "We may have arrived at a watershed moment when the United States looks ... to the Far East as its first instinct," said GM president Craig Kennedy in a statement. The survey, carried out in May and June, asked US and European citizens their opinions on international affairs, the economy and other issues. While 63 percent of Americans saw China as a threat and just 31 percent as an opportunity, majorities in several European countries, including Germany and Britain, said China was an opportunity. Obama's foreign policies proved more popular in Europe, where he scored a 75 percent approval rating, than in the United States, where he scored 54 percent. For the first time in the survey, a majority of Americans, or 56 percent, were pessimistic about the prospects of stabilizing the situation in Afghanistan, while European pessimism remained high at 66 percent. (Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
周三發(fā)布的一項調(diào)查顯示,美國人的關(guān)注點正在從歐洲轉(zhuǎn)向亞洲,多數(shù)美國公民認(rèn)為中國和日本對他們的國家利益更重要,這還是有史以來首次。 跨大西洋趨勢調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn),51%的美國人覺得亞洲國家相對于歐洲國家對他們更重要,只有38%的美國人認(rèn)為歐洲更重要。 分析家說,美國人關(guān)注點的新變化原因有二,一是亞洲蓬勃發(fā)展的經(jīng)濟(jì)帶來的新商機,另一個是對來自遠(yuǎn)東地區(qū)日益激烈的競爭的擔(dān)憂。二者都對美國人的利益產(chǎn)生了影響。 發(fā)布這一調(diào)查的美國智囊團(tuán)德國馬歇爾基金會的資深成員布魯斯?斯托克斯說:“人們在電視上看到了什么呢?繁榮發(fā)展的中國和印度,急劇衰退的歐洲。人們很自然地會問:我們更想和誰結(jié)成同盟?” 上次的調(diào)查中提出了相似的問題,結(jié)果和這次完全相反。 2004年,54%的美國人說歐洲對本國的“核心”利益更重要,只有29%的人說亞洲更重要。 德國馬歇爾基金會主席克雷格?肯尼迪在一份聲明中說:“我們也許已經(jīng)到了一個轉(zhuǎn)折時刻,從此美國開始將遠(yuǎn)東視為自己的首要關(guān)注目標(biāo)?!?/p> 該調(diào)查是在五月和六月間進(jìn)行的,詢問了美國和歐洲民眾對國際事務(wù)、經(jīng)濟(jì)等問題的看法。 63%的美國人將中國視為威脅,只有31%的美國人將其視為機遇。但是包括德國和英國在內(nèi)的幾個歐洲國家的大多數(shù)受訪者都認(rèn)為中國對他們而言是機遇。 調(diào)查證實,奧巴馬的外交政策在歐洲更受歡迎,支持率達(dá)到了75%。但在美國,他的支持率只有54%。 大多數(shù)美國人(56%)對于穩(wěn)定阿富汗局勢都持悲觀態(tài)度,這還是首次出現(xiàn)這樣的調(diào)查結(jié)果。對此持悲觀態(tài)度的歐洲人依然很多,比例高達(dá)66%。 相關(guān)閱讀 全球通勤痛苦指數(shù)大調(diào)查 深圳北京名列前茅 英大學(xué)生“畢業(yè)即失業(yè)”創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄 懂漢語者起薪最高 (中國日報網(wǎng)英語點津 陳丹妮 編輯:馮明惠) |
Vocabulary: prompt: 促使 implode: (內(nèi)爆般)劇減 align: 使結(jié)盟;使密切合作 watershed: 轉(zhuǎn)折點 |