Americans see diminishing role in world, China's rise

Dec 4, 2009, 15:14 GMT

Washington - Americans increasingly view the United States as playing a less important role in the world and as many as half expressed the desire to become more isolated from global affairs, according to a poll released Thursday.

The Pew Research Centre poll found that 41 per cent of Americans believe the US plays a weaker role in the world than it did 10 years ago, the highest number ever shown by the survey.

Meanwhile, 44 per cent of Americans view China as the world's leading economic power while only 27 per cent named their own country. The numbers reflect the poor US economy and China's growing control of the US national debt.

There is also rising isolationist sentiment. Forty-nine per cent of Americans - an all time high in the poll - believe the United States should 'mind its own business internationally and let other countries get along the best they can on their own.'

In the wake of President Barack Obama's decision to deploy 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, 57 per cent of those surveyed said the war is not going well. The poll questioned more than 2,000 members of the public.