Guess who's afraid of free trade

In the post-World War II era, the United States was the champion of global trade, overseeing the creation of much of the infrastructure of the multilateral world order. But times are changing.

According to recent surveys, Americans are now most skeptical about the growing trade ties between countries, whereas the Chinese hold the most positive views on global trade.

This dramatic reversal is reflected in the increasingly critical views of US presidential campaigns on global trade in general and trade with China in particular.