Australians are increasingly wary about China and worry about the potential for foreign interference in their democracy, according to new polling from a major foreign policy think tank.
The Lowy Institute poll suggests that trust by Australians in China to be a responsible global actor has hit its lowest point since the survey began 15 years ago.
Only 32 percent said that they trust China to act responsibly, a 20 point plunge from last year’s survey and 15 points below than the previous low of 47 percent recorded in 2008.
Clear majorities also feel Australia is too economically dependent on China (74 percent) and there is too much inbound investment from Beijing (68 percent).
Only 30 percent have confidence in Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to be a positive contributor to global affairs, down 13 points from last year.
There has also been an eight point increase in the number of Australians concerned about foreign interference in democracy, with 49 percent rating it a critical threat to the national interest.
The poll, conducted for the Lowy Institute by the Social Research Centre, is comprised of a sample of 2,130 adults. It was held prior to the federal election, in mid-March. It has a margin of error of 2.1 percent.
The poll has been running for 15 years.
The increasing negativity about China coincides with extensive reporting by Australian media outlets about Beijing’s use of soft power, concerns about increasing Chinese influence in the Pacific, the banning of Huawei Technologies Co Ltd from government contracts to build Australian infrastructure because of concerns that its links to the Chinese Communist Party could jeopardize Australia’s security and the ongoing flashpoint of the South China Sea.
Australians are more comfortable with the nation’s other major foreign policy relationship — the US — but the data suggests a lack of confidence in US President Donald Trump might be impacting perceptions negatively at the margins.
More than 70 percent rate the alliance with Washington as important for Australia’s security, but that is down four points from last year.
For context, the percentage slipped to 63 percent in 2007 when then-US president George W. Bush was in the White House.
Trump is trusted by only 25 percent to be a positive global actor, while 66 percent say he has weakened Australia’s alliance with the US.
Growing concern about climate change was also a significant feature of this year’s survey.
Sixty-four percent of adults ranked climate change No. 1 on a list of 12 threats to Australia’s national interest, up six points from last year’s survey and a jump of 18 points since 2014.
It is the first time climate change has led the list of threats since the question was first asked in 2006.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was