Where does Australia depend on the US?
Alliance commitments, intelligence, military capability, technology access and diplomatic alignment.
US-China relations through an Australian lens
Australia’s choices in an era of great-power competition.
Explore how the relationship between the United States and China affects Australia’s trade, business, education, defence, technology, diplomacy and long-term sovereignty.
The balancing act
Security with Washington. Prosperity with Beijing. Geography in the Indo-Pacific.
Australia is shaped by three overlapping realities: the United States is its principal security ally, China is one of its most consequential economic partners, and the Indo-Pacific is the region where competition, cooperation and crisis risks converge.
This site is designed for decision-makers, students, journalists and citizens who want clear, non-partisan analysis of the trade-offs Australia faces.
Briefing map
Four questions guide the whole site
Where does Australia depend on China?
Export markets, international education, tourism, manufacturing inputs and regional diplomacy.
Where are the pressure points?
Taiwan, maritime disputes, sanctions, cyber operations, critical minerals, universities and supply chains.
What choices does Australia have?
Diversification, deterrence, diplomacy, industrial policy, regional partnerships and social resilience.
Subtopics
Explore implications by sector
Each topic is written to support future expansion into dedicated pages, reports, charts or interactive explainers.
Business & investment
How US regulation, Chinese demand, sanctions risk and market access shape Australian companies.
Trade & supply chains
Exports, imports, logistics, energy, food, minerals and resilience if tensions escalate.
Education & research
International students, university funding, research security, visas and scientific collaboration.
Military & defence
AUKUS, basing access, deterrence, Taiwan contingencies, maritime security and capability gaps.
Technology & cyber
AI, semiconductors, cloud, 5G, undersea cables, espionage, cyber resilience and digital sovereignty.
Diplomacy & regional influence
Pacific engagement, ASEAN, rules-based order, development finance and middle-power coalitions.
Public opinion & society
Media narratives, diaspora safety, misinformation, political debate and social cohesion.
Future scenarios
Best-case, baseline, economic shock, cyber crisis and conflict scenarios for Australia.
Scenario planning
Possible futures for Australia
Managed competition
US-China rivalry remains tense but bounded. Australia benefits from stability while investing in resilience.
Economic fragmentation
Trade, finance, technology and research networks split further. Australia faces higher costs and more policy pressure.
Cyber or coercion crisis
A major incident targets institutions, infrastructure or exports. Preparedness and public trust become decisive.
Regional military conflict
A Taiwan or maritime crisis forces rapid decisions on alliance commitments, national security and economic survival.
Secure by design
Privacy-first and cyber-resilient, not overpromising.
This site avoids unnecessary complexity so it has a smaller attack surface.
No tracking by default
No advertising pixels, behavioural profiling or third-party surveillance scripts.
Static-first architecture
No database, no login system and no server-side session storage in this starter version.
Security headers included
Cloudflare Pages-compatible _headers file with CSP, HSTS, referrer and permission controls.
Minimal JavaScript
Only a small local navigation script is used. No external JavaScript dependencies.
Cyber-resilience statement
This website is designed with a security-first and privacy-first architecture. It minimises data collection, avoids invasive tracking, uses hardened web security controls and is structured to reduce exposure to common cyber threats.