SYDNEY – Australians support a resumption of dialogue with Beijing and are shifting back towards viewing China as more of an economic partner than a security threat, a new survey showed, after relations collapsed in 2020.
Some 56 per cent of respondents reckon renewed ministerial contacts with China are very or somewhat positive for Australia’s national interest, a Lowy Institute poll showed.
The percentage of those who saw China as a danger fell 11 percentage points to 52 per cent, while those who saw it as an economic partner rose by the same amount to 44 per cent.
The survey of 2,077 adults was conducted between March 14 and 26 and had a margin of error of 2.2 per cent, according to Lowy, a Sydney-based policy think-tank.
Ties with China, Australia’s biggest trading partner, have steadily warmed since the election of the centre-left Labor government in May 2022.
Beijing has lifted some restrictions on Australian goods, and top-level meetings between foreign, trade and defence ministers have taken place after an extended hiatus.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is also expected to visit Beijing before the end of 2023.
Still, the chill in ties persists with Australians, according to the poll, which showed trust, confidence and warmth towards China and President Xi Jinping remain low.
Five years ago, more than half of Australians trusted Beijing to act responsibly in the world, while now that figure is only 15 per cent.
Anxiety about a possible war between the United States and China is elevated, with more than half of respondents saying Australia should stay neutral in such an event.
“But in a conflict over Taiwan, Australians are less ambivalent about acting in concert with the US – even if this means sending military supplies to the government in Taipei or deploying the Royal Australian Navy to help prevent China from imposing a blockade around Taiwan,” said Mr Michael Fullilove, executive director at the Lowy Institute.
Even so, a majority of respondents said they would not support any Australian troop deployments to Taiwan in the event of an invasion by China.
In March, Australia announced it would purchase a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines from the US as part of the Aukus security agreement that also includes the United Kingdom, at a potential cost of more than A$360 billion (S$329 billion).
The Lowy Institute survey found 49 per cent of Australians said the Aukus agreement would make the country safer, and 67 per cent supported the government’s decision to acquire the nuclear submarines.
However, a large number of those surveyed baulked at the price tag, with 47 per cent saying it was not worth it, and 20 per cent saying they believe the new fleet would make military conflict more likely in the Asia-Pacific region.
Trust in the US fell four percentage points to 61 per cent from 2022, the poll showed, but is still 10 percentage points higher than in 2020, the final year of the Trump administration.
Australians have the highest levels of confidence in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at 72 per cent, while that in US President Joe Biden remained steady at 59 per cent. Echoing the decline in Australians’ trust in China in recent years, confidence in Mr Xi stays low at 11 per cent. The only leaders in whom Australians have less confidence are Russian President Vladimir Putin at 7 per cent and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at 3 per cent. BLOOMBERG
