TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — More than three-quarters of American adults have a favorable opinion of Taiwan, according to a Gallup survey released on Tuesday (March 7).

The survey found that 77% of U.S. adults view Taiwan favorably, the highest of eight Gallup polls taken since 1996 on the topic and five percentage points higher than the last one in 2021. Both the Trump and Biden administrations have deepened relations with Taiwan, while former White House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the country in August angered Beijing and led to increased hostility against Taiwan and America, Gallup said.

Gallup also noted the latest survey, which was taken from Feb. 1-23 in its annual World Affairs poll, was finished before Washington announced it would sell more than US$600 million (NT$18.48 billion) in arms to Taiwan.

Looking more closely at the results, 81% of Democrats view Taiwan favorably, followed by 78% of Republicans, and 75% of independents.

In addition, 47% of Americans, a trend high, said conflict between Taiwan and China is a critical threat to America's vital interests in the next decade. Another 42% said it is important but not a critical threat, while 10% said it is not important.

Two previous surveys in 2004 and 2021 found that the Taiwan-China conflict was a critical threat by 23% and 30% of American adults, respectively, while slim majorities said it was an important but not critical threat, according to Gallup. In this year’s survey, 59% of Republicans, 42% of Democrats, and 44% of independents thought the Taiwan-China situation to be a critical threat, per Gallup.

Meanwhile, a record-low 15% of U.S. adults view China favorably , representing a five-percentage-point drop from a year earlier. Gallup has measured Americans’ views on China since 1979.

Gallup said the U.S. public’s view on China has been gradually falling in recent years and is down 38% since 2018. It also said more than eight in 10 American adults have a negative opinion of China, including 45% who view it very unfavorably and 39% unfavorably.

The survey also found that 66% of Americans consider Chinese military power to be a critical threat to U.S. interests, while 27% think it is an important but not critical threat and 6% say it is not an important threat. As for China’s economic power, 64% of U.S. adults consider it a critical threat to American interests, while 30% feel it is an important but not critical threat, while 6% say it is not an important threat.

In closing, Gallup noted that growing friction between Washington and Beijing in recent years has led more Americans to view China's military and economic power as critical threats to U.S. interests. Meanwhile, Americans now view Taiwan more favorably than ever before, while also considering conflict between Taiwan and China as an increased threat to the U.S.