Media
Alert
1 December 2009
The Chinese like Australia’s political system
& values, see the US as a threat, but fear
environmental issues most: 2009 Lowy
Institute China Poll
Embargoed until 10.30pm on Tuesday 1 December 2009
Most Chinese adults agree Australia is a good place to visit, has a good political system
and are attracted to our values. But almost half think Australia is suspicious of China and
that our alliance with the United States is more of a negative than a positive influence on
the Australia-China relationship, the 2009 Lowy Institute China Poll released today has
found.
Of five countries, the United States is seen as posing the greatest threat to China’s
security. But the Chinese public worries more about environmental problems such as
climate change and food and water shortages than traditional military threats.
“In the lead-up to Copenhagen it is striking that more Chinese people were worried about
environmental threats than the possibility of the United States trying to restrain China’s
growing influence”, the report’s authors Fergus Hanson and Andrew Shearer of the Lowy
Institute said.
“And despite recent diplomatic tensions, the Chinese people have quite positive feelings
towards Australia”, the authors said.
Eighty-four per cent agreed Australia was a good place to visit, 68% that Australia had
attractive values and 57% that it had a good political system. A majority (64%) also
agreed Australia was a reliable supplier of natural resources.
“Interestingly, as discussions on a new Asian regional body gain pace, 65% of the
Chinese public
agreed Australia should be a member of Asian regional organisations”,
the authors said.
The poll did highlight the growing complexity of Australia-China relations, however, and
the management challenge this poses for the government. Almost half (48%) of Chinese
people said Australia’s alliance with the United States had more of a negative influence
on China-Australia relations. And the same percentage
agreed (48%)
Australia was a
country suspicious of China compared with 36% who disagreed.
Of five countries, 50% of the Chinese public said the United States posed a threat to
China’s security, followed by 45% for Japan. Majorities said India (60%), Russia (71%)
and North Korea (81%) did not pose a threat.
A third (34%) said the United States posed the greatest threat to China’s security – the
highest rating for the five countries included in the survey.
Of nine possible threats, ‘environmental issues like climate change’ and ‘water and food
shortages’ topped the list with 76% and 67% respectively saying they were
a threat
to
China. ‘If the United States tried to restrain China’s growing influence’ came fourth-
highest with 59% saying it was a threat.
The 2009 Lowy Institute China Poll also reveals:
78% of Chinese adults said Australia was a good place to be educated but only
14% said Australia was the best of five countries in which to be educated.
47% of Chinese people were against companies controlled by the
Australian
government trying to buy a controlling stake in a major Chinese company – an
echo of recent concern in the Australian community about Chinese investment,
particularly in the resources sector.
The Lowy Institute China Poll was conducted by telephone in China between 29 August
and 13 September 2009
using a sample of 1,200 adults randomly selected from urban
and nearby rural communities. The Lowy Institute gratefully acknowledges the support
provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
to fund part of the
survey work.
The full report will be available for download from the Lowy Institute website:
For further information please contact
Orietta Melfi on +61 2 8238 9080 omelfi@lowyinstitute.org
The Lowy Institute is an independent, non-partisan think tank which researches international
political, strategic and economic issues from an Australian perspective.
31 Bligh Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Tel: +61 2 8238 9000 Fax: +61 2 8238 9005
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