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Poll: Majority Of Voters Say China Needs To Help Pay For Coronavirus Pandemic

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Varun Hukeri General Assignment & Analysis Reporter
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According to a recent poll, a majority of American voters believe China is primarily to blame for coronavirus and should help pay for the global costs of the pandemic.

poll released Tuesday by Rasmussen Reports found that 53% of likely voters thought China should help pay at least some of the financial costs associated with the coronavirus pandemic. Another 31% of likely voters said China should not have to pay, while 16% said they were unsure.

There was a bit of a partisan split, with 71% of Republicans saying China should pay for the pandemic while 44% of Democrats and 43% of independent voters said the same. Rasmussen reported that support for President Donald Trump was strongly associated with a critical view of China. (RELATED: Majority Of Americans Agree With Trump Calling COVID-19 ‘Chinese Virus’)

US President Donald Trump (L) and China's President Xi Jinping attend a business leaders event inside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 9, 2017. Donald Trump urged Chinese leader Xi Jinping to work "hard" and act fast to help resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis, during their meeting in Beijing on November 9, warning that "time is quickly running out". / AFP PHOTO / Nicolas ASFOURI (Photo credit should read NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP via Getty Images)

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend an event in Beijing (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images)

The numbers suggest a shift in public opinion, as Rasmussen polling in March found that 42% of likely voters wanted China to pay for the pandemic, and 11-point increase. The percentage of Americans who said China should not have to pay decreased four points from 36% in March.

A study from the University of Cambridge Judge Business School released in May concluded that the total economic cost of the coronavirus pandemic worldwide will range between $3.3 trillion to $82.4 trillion over five years. The study’s mid-range consensus was a loss of $26.8 trillion over 5 years, or 5.3%, of global GDP.

A Congressional Budget Office estimate released in early June predicted the coronavirus pandemic would cost the U.S. economy nearly $8 trillion through 2030, CNBC reported.

Half of likely voters also said they felt China was primarily to blame for the spread of the coronavirus. Of those polled, 72% of Republicans placed the blame on China while 37% of Democrats and 44% of independents blamed China.

NEW ROCHELLE, NY - MARCH 18: Coronavirus crisis volunteer Rhiannon Navin greets local residents arriving to a food distribution center at the WestCop community center on March 18, 2020 in New Rochelle, New York. New Rochelle has been a hot spot for the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Coronavirus crisis volunteer Rhiannon Navin greets local residents arriving to a food distribution center at the WestCop community center in New Rochelle, New York (John Moore/Getty Images)

The novel coronavirus was first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019. The Chinese government has been accused of covering up the spread of the virus, which was declared a global pandemic March 11. (RELATED: China’s Coronavirus Cover-Up Rips Pages From Soviet Chernobyl Playbook)

More than 16.5 million confirmed cases and 655,000 deaths have been reported thus far, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

The poll surveyed 1,000 likely voters via a national telephone and online survey between July 23-26. The poll had a margin of error of +/- three percentage points.