research / Research reports

In February 2015 ACRI commissioned Zogby Research Services to conduct a poll of Chinese business leaders on their attitudes towards Australia.

1. Chinese business leaders¹ are overwhelming positive in their views towards Australia: 93 percent said that their overall impression is favourable or very favourable.² This compares with:

98 percent for Germany
96 percent for Canada
92 percent for Singapore and New Zealand
84 percent for South Korea
81 percent for the United States
78 percent for Russia

2. Chinese business leaders are clear in their evaluation that the bilateral economic relationship carries weight.

76 percent said that Australia is an important or very important economic partner to China.
77 percent said that China is an important or very important economic partner to Australia.
71 percent said that the economic relationship between Australia and China has become more important over the past 5 years.

3. Chinese business leaders feel supported by governments in both countries.

81 percent said that the Australian government is welcoming of closer economic ties with China.
90 percent said that the Chinese government is welcoming of closer economic ties with Australia.
76 percent were aware of the China- Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA)

4. Seventy-four percent said that they see Australia as an attractive or very attractive destination for overseas investment. This compares with:

67 percent for Germany and the United States
61 percent for Canada
55 percent for New Zealand
47 percent for South Korea

5. Chinese business leaders consider Australia an important actor in the Asia- Pacific region: 76 percent said that Australia plays a significant or very significant role. This compares with:

70 percent for South Korea
42 percent for Thailand
40 percent for Indonesia and Malaysia

1 The poll took the form of an online survey of 1010 respondents. Respondents had at least a college degree, have been working for at least five years, are employed as a director, chief officer, administrator, or other company executive, and have home assets of more than 500,000 RMB.

2 Based on a confidence interval of 95 percent, the margin of error in the survey is +/-3.1 percentage points.