'West losing interest in global commerce'

While 89% of Indians and 91% of Chinese support foreign trade, the figure is only 59% in the US, says global survey.

Indians and Chinese have embraced economic globalisation, but the enthusiasm for free market economies and global commerce is waning in the West, especially in the United States, according to new poll released on Friday.

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While 89 per cent of Indians and 91 per cent of Chinese support foreign trade, the figure is only 59 per cent in the world's largest economy, the US, the Pew Global Attitudes survey of more than 45,000 people in 47 countries has found.

While in the two Asian giants the public support for foreign trade has remained almost same since 2002, in America it has seen a sharp decline since 2002, when 78 per cent believed it was having a positive impact.

Interestingly, when it comes to views about multinational corporations the two rapidly expanding Asian economies of China and India are experiencing different trends.

The Chinese are now less likely to believe foreign corporations are helping their country and while more and more Indians are seeing a positive impact.

India's South Asian neighbours -- Bangladesh and Pakistan -- also have become substantially more welcoming to foreign companies over the last five years.

In India, 73 per cent of the public believes foreign companies are having positive impact on the country, while in the US only 45 per cent believe foreign companies are good and that people are better off in free market economies.