Australians 'not willing to give up' on China despite growing mistrust, survey finds
A new poll by the university's Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI) and its Centre for Business Intelligence & Data Analytics (BIDA) found that, amid a deteriorating diplomatic relationship between the two countries, Australians held conflicting views about China.
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However, about 63 per cent believed the government should take a harder line in policies dealing with China.
Those who supported a relationship with China said Australia stood to gain from it, while some of those who expressed concerns about the relationship also expressed support for better ties.
Elena Collinson of ACRI and Paul Burke of BIDA, the authors of the inaugural survey - which takes the pulse of the Australian public's view of the Canberra-Beijing relationship in the hope of working out trends - said the findings showed "a complicated picture".
"Australians are clearly still trying to make sense of this period of tumult and understand a constantly evolving strategic situation," they said. "While Australians are concerned about both the downward spiral in relations and China's new assertiveness, they are not yet willing to give up on the relationship entirely, recognising some of its benefits.
"Only future polls will reveal whether these results precede a tipping point in one clear direction or whether this ambiguity can persist despite the current unprecedented strain."
Respondents were recruited at random nationwide and their backgrounds varied in terms of education, age, income and employment. They did not necessarily have a commercial or personal connection with China.
Australians above 47 years of age and those who voted for the serving conservative government of Scott Morrison were found to be more suspicious of China than younger Australians, and were more worried about the relationship - particularly Beijing's recent bans on some Australian exports such as wine and coal.
Most respondents agreed with the statement: "Without close engagement with China, Australia would not be as prosperous as it currently is."
However, most Australians also thought that their country was overly dependent on China for trade and business, with 81 per cent saying universities were too financially reliant on international students from China.
Those with higher incomes and tertiary level educations - and retirees - were more supportive of a relationship with China than those who were unemployed.
Almost three-quarters of people surveyed (72 per cent) thought the Australian government was right to demand an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus - despite the call leading to a meltdown in Canberra's relationship with Beijing - but they were not asked if the Morrison government had been sufficiently diplomatic in its approach. A minority of respondents felt the government was managing its relationship with China well, while over 40 per cent thought the opposite.
After demanding the investigation, Australia had sought the support of European countries for its stance. However, at the height of the pandemic, countries such as France and Britain had demurred, saying fighting the virus was more important at that time than apportioning blame.
The vast majority of respondents thought both Australia and China had a responsibility to maintain a positive relationship, but when asked to choose one country, slightly more felt China bore the bigger responsibility.
The Australian government has recently moved to boost defence spending and several politicians have claimed war in the region is increasingly likely.
Six in 10 respondents said they were aware of the negative impacts of the diplomatic spat on fellow citizens and residents of Chinese descent. Despite most feeling that universities needed to reduce financial reliance on Chinese students, most also recognised the students' importance as a bridge between the countries.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Copyright (c) 2021. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
