According to a new national poll, Americans are split over whether China represents a military threat to the United States–but there is no doubt in the public’s mind that the country poses an economic threat

Fifty-one percent of the public consider China a military threat, with 47 percent disagreeing. That 4-point margin is within the poll’s 4.5 percent sampling error.

The poll’s release coincides with US President Barack Obama’s first visit to China to bolster relations. He made the case to Chinese students at a town hall meeting on Monday that the two countries’ philosophical differences should not get in the way of a robust relationship.

Two-thirds of Americans see China as a source of unfair competition for US companies, while only a quarter are more likely to view China as a huge potential market for US goods, according to the survey.

CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said, “That may be why 71 percent of Americans consider China an economic threat to the US. Americans tend to view foreign countries as competition, and China is no exception.”

(article and photo source: CNN)