Chinese state media reveals poll that shows what citizens think about Australia - NEWS.com.au

It has been a tumultuous year for the relationship between Australia and China which, at times, has appeared as if it is going rapidly downhill.

After years of a mutually beneficial trade partnership, it appears the two nations can no longer stand the sight of each other at a political level.

Experts believe the tiff began as far back as 2012, when Australia banned Chinese-owned tech giant Huawei from participating in the NBN due to concerns about cyber attacks — and the superpower has never forgiven us.

However, that tiff has blown up into a full-on trade war between the two nations over the past year, and perhaps unsurprisingly, public opinion has shifted.

This week Chinese state media has provided an insight into what everyday Chinese folk think about Australia after such an action-packed 12 months.

It should be said that the poll was undertaken byThe Global Times, which is basically a propaganda outfit for the Chinese Communist Party, but nevertheless it’s not pretty reading for Australians.

The poll showed that the Chinese people have a less favourable attitude toward Australia, and more than 40 per cent consider Australia a threat on military, politics and ideology rather than an economic partner, while the favourable attitude between China and Australia is expected to further decline in 2021.

The Times’ research centre spoke to 2067 respondents aged between 18 and 70 in 10 Chinese cities.

“The average Chinese attitude toward Australia turned out to be 55.6 points – on a scale of 0 to 100 – in the poll, amid deteriorating China-Australia relations, dropping from 65.3 points from 2020 when the Global Times Research Center did a similar survey for the first time,” the Times stated.

China says it’s all Australia’s fault

Chen Hong, a professor and director of the Australian Studies Center of East China Normal University, told the Global Times the “deteriorating impression on each other from people in the two countries mirrors souring bilateral ties”.

“Australia single-handedly has to be responsible for such simmering public opinion. Australian media and politicians have been smearing and criticising China on every front, be it economy, Covid-19 or other issues. Yet Australia has been less frequently mentioned in Chinese publications,” he said.

Nearly 88 per cent of Chinese respondents consider that to Australia, China is an economic partner rather than a military threat, while about 41.3 per cent said to China, Australia is more like a threat on military, political and ideology fronts.

Nearly half consider the US the biggest factor in interrupting China-Australia relations.

When asked about whether they expect China-Australia ties to improve in the next two years, about 44 per cent of the Chinese respondents showed a positive attitude, while 22 per cent said “it’s hard to say.”

The willingness of the Chinese respondents to travel to and study in Australia was also reportedly affected by the souring bilateral relationship.

Among those from 18 to 39 years old, 15.5 per cent favour the UK as the top destination for their overseas studies, the survey showed. The mention rate of Australia on the list of top destinations for Chinese international students dropped 5 percentage points in 2021.

What Aussies think of China

Interestingly, a similar report from the opposite perspective has been published in Australia this week by the Lowy Institute — and it shows the feeling of mistrust and division is mutual.

Only 16 per cent of Australians said they trusted China “a great deal” or “somewhat” to act responsibly in the world – down from 52 per cent in 2018.

Most Australians now see China as a greater security threat than an economic partner.

But there is little appetite for Australia joining a regional military conflict, with more than half of those surveyed saying Australia should “remain neutral” if there is a war between China and the US.

However, Australian distrust of China appears to be focused on the Chinese Communist Party’s actions and policies, with most Australians saying Chinese history and culture, and Chinese people they meet, positively influence their view of the rising superpower.

The Lowy Institute’s Natasha Kassam said there had been a “dramatic” collapse in goodwill towards China since 2018, when only 12 per cent of those surveyed viewed Beijing as more of a security threat than an economic partner.

“The endless list of bilateral irritants and concerning stories — from the crackdown in Hong Kong to the detention of the Uyghurs, sanctions on Australian industries and the plight of Australian citizens in China — has driven the relationship, and driven public perception, to rock bottom,” she told the ABC.

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2021-06-23 12:48:03Z
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