Pew survey finds China seen as top economic power

SURVEY SAYS: A Pew Research Center survey of people in 21 countries found that 41 percent said China was the world's leading economic power, while 40 percent picked the U.S.

Never mind that the U.S. economy is about twice the size of China’s.

After today's lopsided vote on whether to maintain the United States' antagonistic countervailing duty policy against China and other "non-market economies," it's easy to get depressed about the state of US-China trade relations.  Fortunately, a brand new paper from Cato's Dan Ikenson gives us a much-needed dose optimism, and some solid guiding principles for the future of US-China trade relations.

The Wall Street Journal's Bob Davis explains in must-read column what some of us have known for a while now: poll-driven attacks on China may score some cheap political points, but they also have some really nasty consequences. The entire item is well worth your time, but here are some key sections:

Over the last year or so I've often screamed calmly noted that the unbiased, non-partisan folks at the Congressional Research Service (CRS) have repeatedly examined the US-China currency issue and have repeatedly found that significant appreciation of the RMB will have little effect on the US-China trade balance or overall US economic welfare.

China's growing economic and military clout is a matter of concern in the United States and its allies including Japan and France, according to a recently released Pew Research Center poll.China's emerging military power was considered a "bad thing" by 88 percent of survey takers in Japan, 87 percent in France, 86 percent ion South Korea, 79 percent in the United States and 72 percent in Germany, the poll found.