Despite political re-engagement between Australia and China over the past two years, public sentiment towards China remains mired at historically low levels. Only 17% of Australians say they trust China ‘somewhat’ or ‘a great deal’ to act responsibly in the world. This is steady from 2023 and a minor increase on 2022, when trust in China reached a record low (12%). However, it still stands in sharp contrast to just six years ago, when half (52%) of Australians trusted China.

On a list of eight countries, only Russia (8%) elicits less trust from Australians, a ranking it has held since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

For the fourth year in a row, Australians ranked Japan as the most trusted foreign country on the list (87%). France (81%) and the United Kingdom (80%) were the next most trusted countries, remaining in the top three.

In the lead-up to the 2024 US presidential election, levels of trust in the United States dropped a further five points from 2023 to 56%, continuing a decline that now puts it at nine points below 2022 (65%), in the second year of the Biden presidency.

India (56%) and Indonesia (52%) remain largely steady in the middle of the group.

Trust in global powers