The Return of International Politics : American and Chinese Mass Public Opinions Towards Trade Balances

International power competition between the U.S. and China is intensifying as the deterioration of international trade cooperation is ongoing. Especially surrounding the U.S.-China trade war, the bilateral trade imbalance has been vociferously problematised and politicised. I argue that geopolitical concerns shape trade balance views as deficits are seen to limit national power. To gain a better understanding of trade imbalance views, I conduct original survey experiments in China and the U.S. (n=4181). I find that citizens from both countries view trade deficits more negatively than surpluses and that particularly deficits with political competitors are rejected. U.S. respondents who believe that the U.S. will be overtaken by China have more negative views of the bilateral deficit. My findings thus highlight why the trade imbalance is a key point of contention in U.S.-Sino relations. In this context of power gap changes between the U.S. and China, seemingly passé mercantilist ideas are likely to be resuscitated again