纽约时报 美国人对中国商品开放

根据《纽约时报》和哥伦比亚广播公司（CBS News）的调查，最近关于受污染食品、含铅玩具以及其他来自中国的危险进口品的报道在美国消费者当中引起一些关切，但并没有引起对中国制造商品的大规模抗拒。

　　在10月12到16号进行的这次调查，发现35%的受访者认为中国进口品比来自其他国家的进口品更危险。但55%的受访者表示，最近的召回浪潮只是造成一种感觉：中国进口品比其他国家的进口品更有害。

　　这次民调调查了全国1282名成年人。误差率为正负3%。

　　此前数周，新闻报道了不安全的中国产品（当中许多被召回）。作为回应，布什政府已经成立一个广泛的内阁小组以加强对来自各国的进口品的检查，而且国会议员要求华盛顿进一步改革，包括增加食品及药物管理局（FDA）的预算。

　　中国进口品所激起的狂潮还令中美贸易关系紧张。中国对产品安全批评作出回应，高调地打击非法工厂和加工厂，颁布新规定。但北京当局还禁止进口一些美国产品，例如肉和木制品，理由是这些产品有危险性。

　　对华贸易政策还有其他批评。布什政府已经在世贸起诉几种行为（它称为不公平做法），并扬言对一些中国产品征收关税。

　　财政部长鲍尔森还宣称中国在购买美元，人为地保持人民币低估，让它的出口品更廉价，进口品更昂贵。国会的一些措施也发出同样的声言，威胁以贸易制裁惩罚中国。

　　根据民调，公众对美国是否应该和中国保持正常贸易关系意见不一致。45%的受访者表示中国应该获得其他友好国家收到的同样的贸易好处；38%表示它不应该。另外还有17%没有意见。

　　《纽约时报》/CBS News在1991年和2000年问过同样的问题，回答几乎是一样的，这表明最近对中国进口品的批评对公众意见没有产生重大影响。

　　调查显示只有14%的美国人因召回事件而停止购买中国商品。另外7%表示他们已经停止购买一些中国商品，这取决于何种产品，9%表示他们通常不会购买来自中国的商品。

　　根据民调，11%的美国人认为中国产品质量极好或非常好，30%表示他们认为中国产品良好。但36%表示中国制造的产品质量一般，还有20%认为质量差。盖洛普（Gallup）在1996年问过同样的问题，结果也是差不多。

　　尽管关于中国产品的负面宣传大部分集中在玩具，但调查发现，年轻的美国人更倾向于认为中国产品是良性的。年龄在65岁或以上的美国人更容易认为中国产品是有害的，并表示他们不会购买中国产品。（作者 STEVEN WEISMAN，MARJORIE CONNELLY）

Americans Are Open to Chinese Goods, Poll Finds

WASHINGTON, Oct. 19 — Recent disclosures about tainted food, lead-coated toys and other dangerous imports from China have caused some concern among American consumers but not a wholesale rejection of Chinese-made goods, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll.

The poll, conducted Oct. 12-16, found that 35 percent of respondents viewed Chinese imports as more dangerous than products from other countries. But a majority, 55 percent, said the recent wave of recalls just created a perception that Chinese imports are more harmful than imports from other countries.

The poll surveyed 1,282 adults nationwide. The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Seventy-one percent of the public said they were aware of a product’s country of origin when they made a purchase. Forty percent of that group said they viewed Chinese products as more dangerous than imports from other countries.

The poll was taken after several weeks of news reports about unsafe Chinese products, many of them resulting in recalls. In response, the Bush administration has set up a broad cabinet group to improve inspections of imports from all countries, and members of Congress have demanded further changes in Washington, including larger increases to the Food and Drug Administration’s budget.

The furor over Chinese imports has also strained trade relations between China and the United States. China has responded to criticism of its products’ safety with high-profile crackdowns on illegal factories and processing plants, and by issuing new regulations. But authorities in Beijing have also banned some American food imports, like meat and wood products, as dangerous.

There have been other criticisms of Chinese trade policies. The Bush administration has filed several actions before the World Trade Organization against what it calls unfair practices, and has threatened to impose duties on some Chinese goods.

Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. has also asserted that China is buying dollars to keep the value of its currency, the yuan, artificially low in order to make its exports cheaper and imports more expensive. Several measures in Congress, making the same claim, threaten to punish China with trade sanctions.

According to the Times/CBS News Poll, the public is divided on whether the United States should have normal trade relations with China. Forty-five percent said China should have the same trade benefits other friendly nations receive; 38 percent said it should not. Another 17 percent had no opinion.

The same question was asked by The Times and CBS News in 1991 and 2000, drawing nearly the same responses, suggesting that the recent publicity over Chinese imports has not had a major impact on the public’s view.

The survey showed that only 14 percent of Americans have stopped buying Chinese goods as a result of the recalls. Another 7 percent said they had stopped purchasing some Chinese goods, depending on the type of product, and 9 percent said they usually do not buy goods from China.

According the poll, 11 percent of Americans described the quality of Chinese goods as excellent or very good, and 30 percent said they believed Chinese products were good. But 36 percent said the quality of goods made in China was only fair, and 20 percent said it was poor. The same question was asked by Gallup in 1996, with similar results.

Although much of the bad publicity about Chinese imports to America focused on toys, the poll found that younger Americans were more inclined to view Chinese products favorably. Americans age 65 or older were more likely to judge Chinese products as harmful and to say they do not buy Chinese imports. Full results and the poll’s methodology are available at nytimes.com/polls.