POLL: Less than half of students say US is most powerful country

A new poll shows that about three in ten American college students say that China is more powerful than the U.S.

The survey, conducted by College Pulse, collected responses from over 27,000 college students. Altogether, 8,394 respondents (30 percent) claimed that China, not the U.S., is the most powerful country in the world. China was the second-most selected nation in the poll, trailing only the U.S.

“There is no country that poses a more severe counterintelligence threat to this country right now than China"

Although the U.S. won the plurality of votes, it received just under half of the total responses (48 percent) from survey participants.

[RELATED: VIDEO: Students trust communist Chinese government over Trump, U.S. intel]

Other notable nations include Russia (six percent), the United Kingdom (four percent), and Germany (three percent).

Campus Reform has previously conducted interviews with college students, some of whom have said that America is not the greatest country in the world.

In another video, students told Campus Reform that they trust the communist Chinese government over the Trump administration and U.S. intelligence.

The latest results come amid tensions between the U.S. and China. As the Trump administration negotiates with China on trade, U.S. intelligence agencies have also warned against potential threats to national security.

[RELATED: UCLA prof guilty of conspiring to steal missile secrets for China, could face more than 200 years in prison]

FBI Director Christopher Wray said that China is engaging in a large-scale effort to overtake and dominate the economy. He also claimed that there are more than 1,000 ongoing investigations regarding intellectual property theft, with “almost all leading back to China.”

“There is no country that poses a more severe counterintelligence threat to this country right now than China,” Wray said to the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 23. According to Wray, China is attempting to “steal their way up the economic ladder at our expense."

The FBI director clarified that this does not mean the U.S. should not engage in business with the communist powerhouse, but rather that businesses and universities should remain “clear-eyed.”

Security threats regarding China are not exclusive to economic development. Educational development has also been an avenue of concern.

[RELATED: Chinese company buying NJ university by July 1 (UPDATED)]

As Campus Reform previously reported, Confucius Institutes, which serve as Chinese culture and language hubs at American college campuses, have received scrutiny from U.S. intelligence agencies over their associations with the Chinese Communist Party. The Trump administration has warned that these institutes are distributing propaganda.

Other instances of Chinese influence in American higher education include a UCLA prof found guilty of stealing critical military technology and handing it over to China and a Chinese company almost buying a university in New Jersey.

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @ethanycai