Australians are increasingly concerned about military confrontation with China, according to new data, which confirms a fundamental shift in attitudes towards the communist republic.

New findings from the Lowy Institute Poll 2021 suggest growing hostility between Canberra and Beijing has filtered through to the general public, with more Australians mindful of the security threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-led regime.

The research — which involved a national survey of 2,222 Australian adults over the second half of March – found that trust in China has slumped to a record low, with just 16 per cent of respondents stating they trust China ‘a great deal’ or ‘somewhat’ to act responsibly on the world stage, down from 52 per cent three years prior.

In comparison, an overwhelming 87 per cent of Australians trust the UK and Japan to act responsibly, while 61 per cent express the same trust in the United States, up from 51 per cent last year.