We have great news: according to a recent study, Americans now have the most favorable view of China in recent history. The number of Americans with unfavorable opinions of China has dropped from 81% to 77%. And even more significant—the number of Americans who consider China an enemy has dropped from 43% to 33%. That’s huge.

Why is this happening? It’s because of you and people like you who continue to act in the name of peace and shared humanity. We know from history that the first step towards war is the creation of an enemy. The US government has spent the past decade trying to convince the American public that China is our biggest threat. Well, it’s clearly not working anymore. The people are tired of having enemies and they’re tired of war. They are starting to wake up to the military propaganda machine and realize that China is not our enemy—it’s the elites that continue to push for war.

👉Join our next China Is Not Our Enemy Community Call to get smarter on China and detox from the propaganda machine!

Americans don’t want war, but that’s not stopping the current administration from edging us closer and closer to a catastrophic war with China. The proposed military budget for 2026 has passed $1 trillion dollars for the first time ever, and they are using war with China as the justification. While half of that money will go straight to the pockets of private contractors, regular Americans will continue to face austere policies that are eroding the minimal social safety net that exists. CODEPINK’s been advocating to Cut the Pentagon budget for years—and as time goes on our work on China is more and more intertwined with our demands to slash war spending.

In March, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth traveled to Japan and the Philippines to reaffirm US commitment to allying with them against the war on China. Hegseth claimed they are “creating strategic dilemmas for communist China” instead of waiting for events to develop. They are clearly itching for a war, and the defense sector and military tech startups are reaping the benefits. 

The most recent war-loving elite added to the current administration is Michael Obadal, the newest Army Undersecretary. Prior to his nomination, Obadal was the senior director at Anduril, a military tech startup that is creating AI weaponry solely to be used on China. Founder of the startup, Palmer Luckey, even said that they are only making weapons that will be ready by 2027… the date they set on war with China. Well, Obadal still has extensive monetary ties to the weapons company that he refuses to give up. He will, of course, benefit from the multi-million dollar contracts offered to Anduril by the Pentagon… They aren’t even pretending not to be corrupt anymore.

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Even those not in favor of war with China argue that US military presence in the Asia Pacific helps “deter” a possible China threat. But let’s just look at the facts… There is not a single country in the region that the United States has not directly or indirectly murdered scores of people. The US has bombed innocent civilians and destroyed life-affirming infrastructure. They’ve built military facilities on ancient burial grounds. They’ve poisoned rice fields and water sources, contributing to generations of fatal diseases. They’ve propagated a system of mass systematic rape of local women. They’ve abused the sovereignty and rights of local populations. 

And still, the US claims their presence is needed to protect these people from China… but China has never done any of that. If there’s anything they need protection from, it's the United States itself. 

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The truth becomes obvious once you recognize the hypocrisy: the US government’s narratives of China are nothing but a mirror reflection of their own abusive treatment of the world. This supposed “China threat” is merely a tool to justify the continued exploitation of people and occupation of territory in the Asia Pacific. 

With your help, we’ve officially shifted the narrative towards truth and revealed how the media is proactively shaping our minds to support government military actions and interventions—but our work isn't over yet. Misperceptions of China are vast, and the learning never stops. You can continue engaging and spreading the message of peace with China by doing any of the following: 

👉 Engage with your local community to promote peace!

👉 Plan a trip to China and share your experiences!

👉 Join our China book club to read and learn about China!

Peace and solidarity, 

Megan, Jodie, and the CODEPINK Team

Contact [email protected] to learn more.

**Find PEW Research Center study here.