As our relationship with China hits an all-time low, new figures suggest that the majority of Aussies also view the country as a security threat rather than an economic partner.
The annual study – conducted by the Lowy Institute – has been conducted for the past 17 years, however this is the first time views on China have dropped this low.
"We have never seen views towards China plummet this low," Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Program Director Natasha Kassam said on Weekend Today.
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"In context, it was only three years ago in 2018 when the majority of Australians trusted China, 52 per cent. Today that's now at 16 per cent.
"On every question we ask, essentially, about China's military activities, about China's foreign investment, about China's economic growth.
"Australians have soured in a very dramatic way."
Ms Kassam said that Australians also hold a negative view of China's president Xi Jinping, only just favouring him above North Korea's Kim Jong-un.
"The trajectory of views around China's leader are fascinating," she said.
"In 2014, Xi Jinping was addressing Australia's parliament and talking about the friendship between our two countries.
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"In 2015, the majority of Australians didn't actually know who he was in our poll.
"Today, only 10 per cent of Australians have confidence in Xi Jinping. One in ten. That puts him just above North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un."
Other data revealed in the survey suggests that Aussies approve of US President Joe Biden, with 69 per cent having confidence his leadership – more than 40 points above where President Trump was last year.
More than 95 per cent of Australians also say that they are happy with the way Australia has handled the pandemic.
