WASHINGTON, DC, ISA

The US Senate pressed ahead yesterday with a bill to punish China for its alleged currency manipulation as a new poll showed Americans sharply divided by party on whether Beijing is friend or foe.

Just 38 per cent of Republican respondents in a CBS News/Vanity Fair survey said China was an “ally”, against 52 per cent of Democrats and 42 per cent of independents saying the same with the US presidential campaign heating up.

Fifty-five per cent of Republicans said Beijing was an “enemy”, against 34 per cent of Democrats and 42 per cent of independents, according to the poll, which had an overall error margin of plus or minus three percentage points.

Seven per cent of Republicans, 14 per cent of Democrats and 16 per cent of independents said they were unsure in which category to put China, which is widely blamed for US jobs losses, especially in the manufacturing sector.

The poll, which was released Monday, came as senators pressed ahead with legislation that envisions imposing retaliatory tariffs on Chinese imports if Beijing’s currency is found to be unfairly “misaligned”.

Lawmakers of both major US parties charge that China keeps the yuan unfairly cheap against the dollar, giving its goods as much as a 30 per cent edge over comparable US products.

The bill was expected to clear the Senate this week, but the House of Representatives’ Republican leaders have made clear they have no plans to bring it to a vote in that chamber, stalling the bill indefinitely.

The White House said Monday it was still “reviewing” the measure and said there had been “some appreciation” of the yuan, “but not enough”, even as it warned against steps that might violate “our international obligations”.

The CBS News/Vanity Fair poll covered a random sample of 1,165 adults nationwide, reached by telephone August 19-23, 2011.

The poll found a similar split on Russia, with 37 per cent of Republicans saying Moscow is an ally, 49 per cent saying it is an enemy, and 14 per cent saying they were unsure.

But 61 per cent of Democrats said Moscow was a friend, 27 per cent said it was an enemy, and 12 per cent said they didn’t know, and the figures for independents were 51 per cent, 34 per cent, and 15 per cent, respectively.

But Saudi Arabia fared poorly among Republicans and Democrats alike, with just 35 per cent and 34 per cent saying Riyadh is an ally, against 48 per cent and 46 per cent who said it was an enemy.

Independents split more evenly, with 42 per cent saying Saudi Arabia was an ally, and 41 per cent it is an enemy.

Core US ally Israel fared unsurprisingly well, with 75 of Republicans and 68 per cent of Democrats saying that country is a friend, against just 14 per cent and 19 per cent respectively who said it is an enemy.

Among independents, the numbers were 68 per cent and 17 per cent.

AFP