Observation
In 2025, Australians are almost evenly split on whether China is more an economic partner (50%) or a security threat (47%). This represents a rise of six points among those who see China as more of an economic partner, and a fall of six points among those who see it as more of a security threat.
Public sentiment on this question appears to roughly shadow the course of official Australia–China relations: after 2020, majority economic optimism gave way to more pronounced threat perceptions as diplomatic relations soured. Then, from 2023 onwards, as the official relationship thawed, threat perceptions mellowed slightly and public attitudes on this question became more evenly divided.