TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A new poll has found that more than half of Americans think that standing up to China to prevent an invasion of Taiwan is more important than maintaining close ties with Beijing.

As cross-strait tensions continue to escalate, a survey of 1,500 American adults conducted by the Economist and the polling company YouGov from Feb. 25-28 found that 51% of respondents feel it is more important the U.S. government "take a strong stand so that China does not take over Taiwan by force," while only 24% believe maintaining good relations with China is a higher priority. In the event of a Chinese invasion, 37% of respondents support the U.S. sending troops to defend Taiwan.

Among those who claimed to closely follow Taiwan Strait issues, 70% believe the U.S. should take a tough stance against China to prevent it from invading. In contrast, only 18% of respondents who keep abreast of the region believe that maintaining good relations with China is more important, while 12% were not sure.

Unlike other divisive issues, when it comes to Taiwan, views were similar among Democrats, Republicans, and independents. When asked whether the U.S. should take a strong stand against China, Republicans led the way with 58%, followed by Democrats with 55%, and independents with 41%.

On whether the U.S. should mobilize military power to protect Taiwan in the event of a conflict, 37% said they supported it, 22% said they did not support it, and the other 41% felt that they did not know enough about the issue to provide an opinion. However, among those who claim to monitor cross-strait developments, 63% believe that the U.S. should send troops, 25% do not support it, and 12% did not feel they know enough about the topic.

Again, Republicans, Democrats, and independents shared similar views. When asked if the U.S. should use force to defend Taiwan, 41% of Republicans agreed, followed by 38% of Democrats, and 32% of independents.

Regarding House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's anticipated visit to Taiwan later this year, 48% of respondents support McCarthy's visit, while only 25% disagreed and 26% were unsure. Republicans were the most in favor of the visit at 58%, followed by 46% of Democrats.

Support for then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August 2022 was lower, at 34% of the respondents in general, of which 44% were Democrats, and 29% were Republicans.

In addition, 24% of respondents regard Taiwan as an "ally" and 37% think of it as a "friend." Meanwhile, three-quarters of respondents have a bad impression of China. 40% consider China an "enemy," and 35% think China is "unfriendly" to the U.S.

Over the past few months, more and more Americans have started to view China as an enemy, while before 2020, only one in five Americans had that view.