Now in its fourth year, the UTS: ACRI/BIDA Poll continues to provide policymakers and the public with a set of comprehensive insights into how Australians approach what is unquestionably Australia’s toughest foreign policy challenge in generations, the Australia-China relationship.

This year’s results again reveals the level of Australians’ mistrust of China. A growing number of Australians believe that either the US or China will force the country to choose between close relations with Washington or Beijing, but they are relatively evenly split on which of the great powers will force the issue. Another Trump presidency is deemed likely to render that dilemma more acute.

Overall, Australians remain strongly wary of and concerned by Xi Jinping’s more assertive foreign policy, particularly in the areas of foreign interference, espionage and the use of social media and communications platforms such as TikTok and WeChat. Half of those polled support higher defence spending, even if that means budget cuts in other portfolios. Support for AUKUS is inching up even as the Australia-China relationship is viewed as a net positive for regional stability and as support for a containment strategy slips.