- Many French adults express concerns about the effect of China in financial matters, according to a seven-country poll by TNS Opinion for the German Marshall Fund. 70 per cent of respondents in France believe the Chinese economy represents a threat.

Poland is next on the list with 67 per cent, followed by Italy with 66 per cent, Slovakia with 65 per cent, the United States with 59 per cent, and Germany with 53 per cent. Britain was the only country surveyed where fewer than half of all respondents considered the Chinese economy a threat.

In 1949, the People's Republic of China was established as a one-party state. In the 1980s, the ruling Communist Party of China (ZGD) loosened a series of authoritarian restrictions and allowed private enterprise for the first time in decades. The country currently has one of the world's fastest growing economies, becoming a global exporter and a very attractive venue for foreign investors.

Earlier this month, a Goldman Sachs report predicted a 10 per cent growth in China's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2008. The document also outlines the possibility of China becoming the world's third-largest economy over the next two years, ahead of Germany.

In 2005, the U.S. trade deficit with China topped $200 billion U.S., the largest disparity in the country's history

Polling Data

Which of these two statements do you agree with the most?

a) The Chinese economy represents a threat because low-cost Chinese products compete with our country's products and our country's companies can relocate to China.

b) The Chinese economy represents an opportunity because we can sell more of our country's products in China, purchase low cost Chinese goods, and our country's companies can invest in China.

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