TOKYO, June 27 (Xinhua) -- More American opinion leaders consider China as the United States' most important partner in Asia given the countries' trade relations, a survey by the Japanese Foreign Ministry revealed.
When asked to pick "the most important partner of the United States" among Asian and nearby countries, 35 percent of 200 opinion leaders from a range of fields picked China, while 33 percent picked Japan, according to the survey conducted between December 2020 and January 2021, local media reported Saturday.
The percentage of the surveyed selecting China was up significantly from 18 percent in the poll a year earlier, while the number of people choosing Japan slipped from 42 percent.
Meanwhile, 9 percent of the respondents chose Australia in the annual survey, and South Korea ranked fourth at 7 percent.
Among the surveyed who viewed China as the most important partner, almost four out of five cited economic factors, with 56 percent referring to trade ties and 23 percent picking the country's economic strength as the reason.
