Poll: American young adults see China as a threat

Almost three out of four young adults in the crucial battleground state of Ohio are concerned China is taking over their jobs, according to a new poll from the conservative-leaning Generation Opportunity.

The poll found that 73 percent of 18-to-29 year-olds told pollsters they were concerned that “so many American jobs are going to foreign competitors like China.” They blamed China's lower wages first and foremost (78 percent), but also taxes on U.S. businesses (38 percent), government regulations (30 percent) and “lack of opportunity” to start and grow businesses in the United States (28 percent).

“China is a very important issue to young adults across the country, especially among those living in Ohio, because they view China as either or both an economic and military competitor to the United States,” Generation Opportunity President Paul Conway said in a statement accompanying the poll.

“For young Americans living through a poor economy where meaningful, full-time jobs are difficult to find, they understand that their generation has been set-back in terms of critical skills, knowledge and work experiences. They know these setbacks in their professional careers put both themselves and America at a potential long-term competitive disadvantage with workforces in China and other countries.”

China has loomed large in this election, with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney vowing to get tough on America's second-largest trading partner and label it a currency manipulator on his first day in office. President Obama has countered that Romney's record of investing in companies that relocated to China makes him unlikely to follow through on his election-time threats.

Young Ohioans went on to list “indebtedness to foreign nations” as the third gravest threat facing America (44 percent of respondents), behind the national debt and energy dependence but ahead of terrorism. The online survey of 507 Ohio adults confirms findings from a nationwide poll last year that found 76 percent of young adults view China as a danger, 48 percent view it as an economic threat and 28 percent view it as both an economic and military threat.