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Former prime minister Scott Morrison has told the United States Congress that Australians are at risk of “going to sleep” on the security threat posed by China, and warned the US and its allies they must be prepared to wear economic pain to stand up to Beijing.
Appearing before a congressional hearing on the Chinese Communist Party, Morrison cited polling by the Lowy Institute that showed, in 2025, 50 per cent of Australians said China was “more of an economic partner to Australia”, whereas 47 per cent said it was “more of a security threat”.
Former prime minister Scott Morrison appeared at a congressional hearing on the Chinese Communist Party in Washington.Credit: AP
That had changed significantly from 2021-22, a time of strained relations between Canberra and Beijing, when 63 per cent said China was more of a security threat and 33 per cent said it was more of an economic partner.
“That is an objective of the CCP – that Western democracies will go to sleep on the threat,” Morrison told the hearing.
Read more from North America correspondent Michael Koziol here.
