Western public opinions looking East

This chapter explores European and American public and elite views of foreign policy strategic move towards the Asia-Pacific region for the first time in a systematic and comparative way. It outlines the main points of debate surrounding the rebalancing strategy. The chapter reviews the main literature dealing with public opinion towards Asia. It addresses the research questions by examining patterns of convergence and divergence between leaders and the general public, as well as between Europeans and Americans. The chapter focuses on American public opinion, both descriptively and explanatorily, while much less is known about what the Europeans think of China and the Asian region. Far from being a recent development, the US 'pivot to Asia' builds upon a foreign policy orientation that can be traced back to the policy of engagement with China under the Nixon administration. Public opinion, on both sides of the Atlantic, is more likely to perceive an economic threat coming from China than a military one.