Australia’s Chinese community feels a stronger sense of belonging and trust in the nation, in the wake of a fall in race-based attacks.

A new survey has found fewer members of the Chinese community had been called offensive names or physically threatened or attacked because of their heritage in the past year. 

The Lowy Institute report found one in three Chinese-Australians was treated differently because of their race and one in five was called offensive names, but the latter is down 10 percentage points from two years ago. 

The number who reported being physically abused or threatened dropped from 18 per cent to 14 per cent in 2022. 

The report also found Australia was the country Chinese-Australians trusted the most, alongside a decrease in confidence in China and its president, Xi Jinping.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was the most trusted leader. 

Three-quarters reported pride in Australian life and culture, and the same number said they felt a “great” or “moderate” sense of belonging. 

Almost half said democracy is preferable over any other governance structure, an increase of 14 percentage points compared with the previous year. 

While most trust English-language media, there is still a divide between whether or not they believe media reporting about China is too negative. 

The Chinese community is also less likely to see China as a military threat, and 70 per cent believe Australia should remain neutral in any conflict between Beijing and Washington, compared with 51 per cent in the broader community.

A severe downturn in the global economy was the issue that drew the most concern. 

Lowy Institute project director Jennifer Hsu said the survey came at an important time in global politics. 

“In recent years, Chinese-Australians have come under greater scrutiny, and some have had their loyalty to Australia questioned,” Dr Hsu said.

“Grasping the impact that these and other issues are having on how Chinese-Australians see their place in Australian society is critical to our social cohesion.”

The Lowy Institute surveyed 1200 adults self-identifying as part of the Chinese community between the end of September and mid-December 2022.

Meanwhile, the Australia-China Relations Institute at Sydney’s University of Technology said declining knowledge about China is a growing concern.

ACRI said while universities generate a large amount of information about China, there are questions about direct knowledge of how China operates and engages with Australia’s national interest.

“A little China knowledge goes a long way here,” China Studies Centre director David Goodman said. 

By Dominic Giannini in Canberra