Visitors are invited to make zongzi and experience traditional Dragon Boat Festival customs in Jinan, East China's Shandong Province on June 6, 2024. The photo shows Damian, a tourist from Australia (right), displaying the zongzi he has made. Photo: VCG

Nearly one-third of Australian respondents hope to travel to China to learn more about the country and more than half of Australians "strongly support" or "support" people-to-people exchanges between China and Australia, according to the latest survey jointly conducted by the Global Times Institute (GTI) and the Australian Studies Centre of Beijing Foreign Studies University on China-Australia relations.

In terms of people-to-people exchanges, the survey found that 78.8 percent of Chinese respondents "strongly support" or "support" people-to-people exchanges between China and Australia, with support from Australian respondents also exceeding half (50.5%).

Specifically, over eight out of ten Chinese respondents are willing to travel to or revisit Australia, while nearly one-third of Australians (31.5%) hope to travel to China to learn more about the country.

China announced on Monday that Australia will be included in the list of visa-free countries, a step that experts believe will contribute to the development of bilateral relations.

"Visiting each other is a great way to build relations and understanding, while both countries offer tourists a vastly different experience from they would find at home," John Queripel, an Australian historian and author, told the Global Times. "Large numbers from each country visit the other for the deep cultural experience which that brings."

According to Queripel, the economies of Australia and China are strongly complementary. "They serve each other. Some one-third of Australian trade is with China. China is by far Australia's largest trading partner. So if we are talking strictly economically, harmonious and friendly relations between the countries are essential," he said.

However, it is also worth noting that the percentage of Chinese respondents willing to study in or revisit Australia for study is only 16.7 percent, significantly lower than those with willingness to travel (83.3%), and to work (30.7%), but slightly higher than those with willingness to settle or immigrate (11.5%).

Liu Qing, vice president at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times that Australia, as a destination for studying abroad, has unique natural and cultural advantages. However, its education market is affected by factors such as technological cooperation pressure, and frequent changes in student visa and graduate work visa policies, which are worrying for Chinese students.

Queripel pointed out to the Global Times that many Australians still feel a closer affinity with "their type," as in people from Europe and North America. The Australian populace is becoming more diverse, but some politicians and members of the media still cling to Western values.

"The Australian media still takes its lead almost exclusively from the Western narrative. That means stories from Asia are largely ignored or cast negatively, particularly those to do with China. It is from such hidebound understandings that Australia must move on. While Australia will clearly maintain a close relationship with the US, it needs to assert its independence based around its own interests. With China, it needs to lay aside fears and suspicions, which are deep seated but essentially baseless," Queripel said.

The GTI survey on China-Australia mutual perceptions was conducted across 16 cities in China, targeting ordinary residents aged 18-69. The selection of cities - Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Shenzhen, Nanning, Harbin, Nanchang, Lanzhou, Xi'an, Shenyang, Wuhan, Chengdu, Zhengzhou, Qingdao, and Kunming - ensured a balanced geographical distribution. The survey also targeted the general public aged 18-70 across the eight states and territories of Australia: the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia.

An online questionnaire method was employed based on a large-scale membership sample database. The period of the survey was from May 26 to June 5, 2024. A total of 1,200 valid samples were collected in China, and 1,075 valid samples in Australia.

This year marks the fourth year of the survey since it started in 2020, and the first time that questionnaires have been offered to the Australian public.