Q. Overall, which is closest to your view about Australia’s relationship with China?

• Over twice as many people think Australia’s relationship with China is a threat to be confronted than a positive opportunity to be realised (24% to 10%). However most believe it is a complex relationship to be managed.
• Younger people aged 18-34 are more likely to see the opportunity for a positive relationship with China than those aged over 55 (14% to 6%).

Q. Thinking about Australia’s relationship with China, how do you rate the influence of China on each of the following aspects?

• Compared to August 2019, Australians are less likely to rate China’s influence on Australia as positive – particularly in international trade (from 59% to 28%), and Chinese corporations operating in Australia (from 41% to 22%).

Q. Given the choice between the United States of America and China, with which country do you think it would be most beneficial for Australia to strengthen our relationship?

• 57% of Australians now think it would be most beneficial to strengthen our relationship with the US, a proportion that has been increasing since August 2019.
• Only 14% think Australia should strengthen our relationship with China over the US (a decrease from 28% in 2019). A further 15% think Australia should strengthen our relationship with neither country, and a similar proportion (14%) don’t know.

• Across party lines, all voters are now more likely to think we should strengthen our relationship with the US compared to last May.

Q. In the past month, diplomatic tensions between Australia and China have increased, with Australia investing $750M to improve Australian Defence Force training facilities in the Northern Territory and Defence Minister Peter Dutton saying that a war with China over Taiwan should not “be discounted”.

To what extent are you concerned about Australia engaging in a military conflict with China in the near future?

• 39% of Australians are concerned about Australia engaging in a military conflict with China in the near future, with 18% extremely concerned. 36% are fairly concerned, and a quarter (25%) are not concerned.
• Those 18-34 are less likely to be concerned about this than older cohorts (31% to 44% of those 35-54 and 41% those over 55).

Q. There are ongoing trade disputes between Australia and China, with China imposing high tariffs on imported Australian products.

Some people see this as a reaction from China to Australian calls for an inquiry into the origins of Covid-19 and leading international pressure on the Chinese Government’s record on human rights.

Which of the following statements is closer to you views on this issue?

• The majority of people think Australia is the victim of trade restrictions by China (62%), with the remainder linking the dispute to criticism of China by the Australian government (38%).
• Those most likely to think Australian trade has been unfairly restricted include those aged over 55 (67%) and Coalition voters (67%).

Q. Last week the Chinese government imposed tariffs on Australian barley exports, costing farmers millions of dollars through lost revenue. To what extent do you agree or disagree about the following statements about international trade with China?

• Two-thirds (66%) of participants agree the Australian government needs to stand up to the Chinese Government and demand an open inquiry into the origins of Covid-19.
• More than half of participants agree the Chinese government imposed the tariffs in response to Australia leading calls for an independent inquiry into the origins of Covid-19 (57%) or the Australian government needs to do all it can to avoid a trade war with China (53%).
• Less than half of participants agree that Australia should impose tariffs on imports from China in retaliation (48%) or Australia should work towards an agreement with China to remove the tariffs on barley, whatever the conditions (47%).
• Coalition voters are most likely to agree that the government needs to stand up to the Chinese Government and demand an open inquiry into the origins of Covid-19 (76%); while Labor (60%) and Greens (59%) voters are less likely to agree.

Q. Given the choice between the United States of America and China, which country do you think it would be most beneficial for Australia strengthen our relationship with?

• Now 42% of participants believe it would be more beneficial to strength our relationship with the United States of America (up 4%), but a quarter say we should strengthen our relationship with neither country (24%, up 6%).
• Coalition voters are most likely to say we should strengthen our relationship with America (56%), while Greens voters would prefer to strengthen our relationship with neither country (37%).

Q. Do you think investment in mining and ports by Chinese companies is good or bad for the Australian economy?

38% think that investment in mining and ports by Chinese companies is good for the Australian economy and 36% think it is bad.

Liberal/National voters are more likely to think it is good for the economy (50%), while Labor and Greens voters are almost evenly divided on this issue.

Those most likely to think it is good for the economy were men (48%) and full-time workers (46%). Those most likely to think it is bad were aged 55+ (46%).