The inaugural annual UTS: ACRI:BIDA Poll 2021, released by the Australia-China Relations Institute and the Centre for Business Intelligence & Data Analytics at the University of Technology Sydney, is the most comprehensive survey of Australian public opinion on Australia’s relationship with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to date. It gauges opinion on a number of aspects of Australia’s relationship with the PRC: overall views, the Australian government’s political communication, the triangular Australia-US-PRC relationship, trade and investment, military and security (including conflict over Taiwan), society (including the impact of political tensions on Australians of Chinese background, and foreign interference), university and research, and global and regional cooperation.
The Australia-China political relationship has been enduring significant difficulties since 2017, with the last year a particularly turbulent period. Chinese economic coercion has started to bite and Canberra’s pushback against Beijing has reached a new intensity. In both Canberra and Washington there now appears to be a solid consensus across party lines on the need to respond to China’s rise more forcefully. Against that backdrop, this poll by the Australia-China Relations Institute and the Centre for Business Intelligence & Data Analytics at the University of Technology Sydney takes the Australian public’s pulse on current aspects of, and recent events in, the Australia-China relationship with a view to better understanding this immediate past and some of the trends which may shape its future.
A complicated picture emerges. Australians are clearly still trying to make sense of this period of tumult and understand a constantly evolving strategic situation. 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.
