The Lowy Institute titles, "Australians now wary of both China and the US,"

In 2026, Australians are ... placing low levels of trust in both the United States and China.

Trust in the United States to act responsibly in the world has fallen to 31%, the lowest level in the history of Lowy Institute polling. This new low represents a five-point drop from last year and a 25-point drop from 2024 ...

Trust in China to act responsibly in the world has risen eight points since last year to 28%, narrowing the gap with the United States to just three points. In 2022, that gap was 53 points ...

But the positive thing is:

Australians place high levels of trust in liberal democracies and the United Nations.

For the sixth year running, Japan is the most trusted power, with 89% of Australians saying they trust Japan to act responsibly in the world. Germany is the next most trusted power (83%), followed by the United Kingdom (81%). Seven in ten Australians (70%) say the United Nations is either ‘somewhat important’ or ‘very important’ to Australia’s national interests.

For two of Australia’s key regional partners — Indonesia and India — trust remains steady if moderate. Trust in Indonesia to act responsibly in the world sits at 57%, similar to last year’s result. Australians’ trust in India fell four points from last year to 50%.

Of the countries surveyed, Russia was once again the power least trusted by Australians with only 11% saying they trust Moscow to act responsibly in the world.

The Lowy Institute titles, "Australians now wary of both China and the US,"

In 2026, Australians are ... placing low levels of trust in both the United States and China.

Trust in the United States to act responsibly in the world has fallen to 31%, the lowest level in the history of Lowy Institute polling. This new low represents a five-point drop from last year and a 25-point drop from 2024 ...

Trust in China to act responsibly in the world has risen eight points since last year to 28%, narrowing the gap with the United States to just three points. In 2022, that gap was 53 points ...

But the positive thing is:

Australians place high levels of trust in liberal democracies and the United Nations.

For the sixth year running, Japan is the most trusted power, with 89% of Australians saying they trust Japan to act responsibly in the world. Germany is the next most trusted power (83%), followed by the United Kingdom (81%). Seven in ten Australians (70%) say the United Nations is either ‘somewhat important’ or ‘very important’ to Australia’s national interests.

For two of Australia’s key regional partners — Indonesia and India — trust remains steady if moderate. Trust in Indonesia to act responsibly in the world sits at 57%, similar to last year’s result. Australians’ trust in India fell four points from last year to 50%.

Of the countries surveyed, Russia was once again the power least trusted by Australians with only 11% saying they trust Moscow to act responsibly in the world.

Yeah, the West bad, China the only solution. This hit piece doesn't even try to justify the bold headline. It contains not a single number, no sources whatsoever. It's just the usual Chinese propaganda bot spreading for the teenage tankies.

China’s ‘Natasha’ toy trend draws backlash over violence and racism - [video, 2 min]

A wave of videos showing a Black baby doll being beaten, pulled and thrown spread across Chinese social media before critics blasted the trend for violent imagery and inappropriate marketing.

Edit:

One paper on Chinese racism concludes (opens pdf):

Racism is not just a Western problem, it is a problem in China too. In many ways, China can be viewed as racist. From ancient times, racism has been part of the construction of the Chinese Han population. Perceptions about their standing in the international realm has provided their course of development and fuelled their ideologies that embed racial context ... The development of the Han race was centred on the Chinese perception that they are the most advanced and superior race in the world and any other culture that came to China had to be either eliminated or adapted into Chinese culture in order to stimulate civilisation. The Chinese Government choose to dominate regions of ethnic minorities so they can maintain control and enforce racial opinion that allows a consistent consensus of the superiority of the Han population. The Tibetan and Uighur regions have become subject to this kind of manipulation and institutionalised racism has become a specific tool of domination.

China can be viewed an extremist country, its racial tactics have been compared to those of Nazi Germany as it singles out other races in the quest for its own absolute power. China can be likened to North Korea in the sense that it takes violent and discriminatory measures to eliminate ethnic minorities that would ‘contaminate’ their pure race.

Here is a series of article on Chinese racism in more recent contexts.

A rights group reported, From Covid to Blackface on TV, China’s Racism Problem Runs Deep, and urged China [To] Combat Anti-Black Racism on Social Media.

You'll find much more on the web.

Yeah, the West bad, China the only solution. This hit piece doesn't even try to justify the bold headline. It contains not a single number, no sources whatsoever. It's just the usual Chinese propaganda bot spreading for the teenage tankies.

The media outlet Meduza has asked ordinary people in Moscow about what they think about Ukrainian strikes. I don't know whether that is representative for the whole of Russia (maybe someone with more knowledge of Russia's society can comment):

Some quotes:

All these years I felt sympathy for Ukrainians as I read the news about attacks by our “brave” special-military-operation [sic] boys ... I’m sorry about what’s happening. And I’m very sorry that people are dying on both sides of the front line because of one man’s imperial ambitions.

We tried to find shelters, and there simply aren’t any in the area: everything’s been turned into car washes, private shops — anything at all except shelters… We’re cannon fodder in this pointless war, statistical casualties.

What shocked me most about this attack was that there was no alert, no warnings of any kind. I woke up to the buzzing of drones and explosions. The only information I could find about the scale of the attack was on Telegram and Instagram. I’m very worried about my family — if attacks like this keep up, I may be forced to leave Russia with them.

My attitude toward the war hasn’t changed. I don’t approve of the war, and I’m waiting for it to end.

What did anyone expect — that by year five of a full-blown war, drones just weren’t going to reach Moscow? An eye for an eye: our guys are hitting apartment towers in Kyiv and the Pechersk Lavra, and Ukrainian drones are flying straight into factories. The only thing I hope for is that as few people as possible are hurt, and it seems to me that the Ukrainian armed forces do less harm to civilians than our troops do.

My attitude toward the war is only hardening into intense hatred of what’s happening, of how everything is being taken away from people. Instead of space, new technology, and breakthroughs in medicine, we’ve got gas at nearly 100 [rubles], rising prices, constant fear for ourselves and our loved ones, and no visible future.

The war is returning to where it began. We should be grateful that Ukraine, unlike Russia, is hitting military targets, not residential buildings and cultural landmarks.

On the contrary, I support it [the strike by Ukraine], even though [...] it’s scary. Because how else, except by force, are you going to open the eyes of those who blindly believe an old senile man who’s already started talking about a new term, and make that usurper of power in Russia sit down at the negotiating table?

I didn’t manage to take a photo. But that image will stay in my memory. A quiet Moscow morning. The familiar silhouette of the city. And a drone, flying calmly over the capital of a country that for decades told its citizens about its own omnipotence. That, I guess, is exactly how great illusions end. Not loudly. Not with trumpets blaring. But in the moment when you suddenly see the difference between the backdrop and reality.

[...]

Russia doesn't seem to be heading for a fuel crisis, it's already there ...

Reuters reports that Russia is set to import fuel by sea in June as it seeks to manage a gasoline shortage following extensive drone attacks on ‌its refineries,

In a rare move for one of the world's largest exporters of oil and refined products, Russia is expected to receive a cargo of gasoline via one of ​its western ports in June ... It will be shipped from Asia, ​one source said, without providing details on volumes or suppliers.

And Russia’s state railway monopoly announced Wednesday [June 17] the creation of a specialized task force to manage fuel transportation across the country, according to the Moscow Times:

An increasing number of regions implement rationing measures amid a coordinated Ukrainian drone campaign against oil refineries and supply lines ... In a statement, Russian Railways said the new task force will focus on maintaining steady deliveries of petroleum products while navigating a volatile “operational environment” — a standard euphemism used by officials to refer to the fallout from Ukrainian attacks.

China’s ‘Natasha’ toy trend draws backlash over violence and racism - [video, 2 min]

A wave of videos showing a Black baby doll being beaten, pulled and thrown spread across Chinese social media before critics blasted the trend for violent imagery and inappropriate marketing.

The 'friction arising towards China' isn't limited to Ghana but in Africa but goes far beyond, and the only 'external influences' if you want to put it that way comes from China. It is about Chinese racism.

We must note that the Chinese government bears responsibility for this as it itmaintains one of the world’s most sophisticated internet censorship regimes, [though its censorship] policies are inadequate when addressing racist content. As one of the linked sources says,

Black people who had ... lived in China [said] they had reported racist content to social media companies but only received automated responses that the content did not violate guidelines. “For me, it’s shocking that [racist] stuff like that doesn’t get censored or banned given how quickly the Great Firewall works to ban,” said a Shanghai-based West African man.

And, even worse,

While the Chinese government ostensibly condemns racism, its own state media perpetuates it. In the flagship state television China Central Television’s (CCTV) 2018 Lunar New Year gala, a skit intended to showcase the Chinese government’s investment in Africa featured a Chinese actress in blackface, reciting lines like, “China has done so much for Africa” and “I love Chinese people! I love China!” CCTV was criticized for racism in that production, but the government again featured blackface in its 2021 gala. In a performance titled “African Song and Dance,” which was supposed to celebrate traditional African culture, Chinese dancers appeared with their skin darkened by makeup.

A 2022 musical “Ironman in Africa,” produced by the Heilongjiang provincial government, extolled Chinese workers’ oil exploration in Sudan. The musical showed Chinese actors dressed in what appeared to be dark wigs and in grass skirts apparently as a caricature of Sudanese residents.

This isn't a problem of 'external influences' but rather a problem from within when the study say that

China can be viewed an extremist country, its racial tactics have been compared to those of Nazi Germany as it singles out other races in the quest for its own absolute power.

This is about Chinese racism assaulting Africa, and it has nothing to do with Europe, the U.S. or anything else but Chinese racism.

@massive_bereavement@fedia.io

Edit:

One paper on Chinese racism concludes (opens pdf):

Racism is not just a Western problem, it is a problem in China too. In many ways, China can be viewed as racist. From ancient times, racism has been part of the construction of the Chinese Han population. Perceptions about their standing in the international realm has provided their course of development and fuelled their ideologies that embed racial context ... The development of the Han race was centred on the Chinese perception that they are the most advanced and superior race in the world and any other culture that came to China had to be either eliminated or adapted into Chinese culture in order to stimulate civilisation. The Chinese Government choose to dominate regions of ethnic minorities so they can maintain control and enforce racial opinion that allows a consistent consensus of the superiority of the Han population. The Tibetan and Uighur regions have become subject to this kind of manipulation and institutionalised racism has become a specific tool of domination.

China can be viewed an extremist country, its racial tactics have been compared to those of Nazi Germany as it singles out other races in the quest for its own absolute power. China can be likened to North Korea in the sense that it takes violent and discriminatory measures to eliminate ethnic minorities that would ‘contaminate’ their pure race.

Here is a series of article on Chinese racism in more recent contexts.

A rights group reported, From Covid to Blackface on TV, China’s Racism Problem Runs Deep, and urged China [To] Combat Anti-Black Racism on Social Media.

You'll find much more on the web.

One paper on Chinese racism concludes (opens pdf):

Racism is not just a Western problem, it is a problem in China too. In many ways, China can be viewed as racist. From ancient times, racism has been part of the construction of the Chinese Han population. Perceptions about their standing in the international realm has provided their course of development and fuelled their ideologies that embed racial context ... The development of the Han race was centred on the Chinese perception that they are the most advanced and superior race in the world and any other culture that came to China had to be either eliminated or adapted into Chinese culture in order to stimulate civilisation. The Chinese Government choose to dominate regions of ethnic minorities so they can maintain control and enforce racial opinion that allows a consistent consensus of the superiority of the Han population. The Tibetan and Uighur regions have become subject to this kind of manipulation and institutionalised racism has become a specific tool of domination.

China can be viewed an extremist country, its racial tactics have been compared to those of Nazi Germany as it singles out other races in the quest for its own absolute power. China can be likened to North Korea in the sense that it takes violent and discriminatory measures to eliminate ethnic minorities that would ‘contaminate’ their pure race.

Here is a series of article on Chinese racism in more recent contexts.

A rights group reported, From Covid to Blackface on TV, China’s Racism Problem Runs Deep, and urged China [To] Combat Anti-Black Racism on Social Media.

You'll find much more on the web.

True, Lol. I don't even know how I got here ;-)

China’s ‘Natasha’ toy trend draws backlash over violence and racism - [video, 2 min]

A wave of videos showing a Black baby doll being beaten, pulled and thrown spread across Chinese social media before critics blasted the trend for violent imagery and inappropriate marketing.

Edit:

One paper on Chinese racism concludes (opens pdf):

Racism is not just a Western problem, it is a problem in China too. In many ways, China can be viewed as racist. From ancient times, racism has been part of the construction of the Chinese Han population. Perceptions about their standing in the international realm has provided their course of development and fuelled their ideologies that embed racial context ... The development of the Han race was centred on the Chinese perception that they are the most advanced and superior race in the world and any other culture that came to China had to be either eliminated or adapted into Chinese culture in order to stimulate civilisation. The Chinese Government choose to dominate regions of ethnic minorities so they can maintain control and enforce racial opinion that allows a consistent consensus of the superiority of the Han population. The Tibetan and Uighur regions have become subject to this kind of manipulation and institutionalised racism has become a specific tool of domination.

China can be viewed an extremist country, its racial tactics have been compared to those of Nazi Germany as it singles out other races in the quest for its own absolute power. China can be likened to North Korea in the sense that it takes violent and discriminatory measures to eliminate ethnic minorities that would ‘contaminate’ their pure race.

Here is a series of article on Chinese racism in more recent contexts.

A rights group reported, From Covid to Blackface on TV, China’s Racism Problem Runs Deep, and urged China [To] Combat Anti-Black Racism on Social Media.

You'll find much more on the web.

China’s ‘Natasha’ toy trend draws backlash over violence and racism - [video, 2 min]

A wave of videos showing a Black baby doll being beaten, pulled and thrown spread across Chinese social media before critics blasted the trend for violent imagery and inappropriate marketing.

[Singapore] has condemned Russia’s attacks and said that its invasion of Ukraine is a violation of international law ... "Singapore has taken the position we did on Ukraine ... because of our consistent commitment to the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries,” [PM Wong] said.

It's an important detail, and we should note that Putin complained about the sanctions Singapore has imposed on Russia because of the Ukraine war. It was also Putin who requested this 'summit' as he reportedly runs out of options in his desperate effort to rescue Russia's economy (or, better, what remains left).

[Singapore] has condemned Russia’s attacks and said that its invasion of Ukraine is a violation of international law ... "Singapore has taken the position we did on Ukraine ... because of our consistent commitment to the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries,” [PM Wong] said.

It's an important detail, and we should note that Putin complained about the sanctions Singapore has imposed on Russia because of the Ukraine war. It was also Putin who requested this 'summit' as he reportedly runs out of options in his desperate effort to rescue Russia's economy (or, better, what remains left).

[Singapore] has condemned Russia’s attacks and said that its invasion of Ukraine is a violation of international law ... "Singapore has taken the position we did on Ukraine ... because of our consistent commitment to the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries,” [PM Wong] said.

It's an important detail, and we should note that Putin complained about the sanctions Singapore has imposed on Russia because of the Ukraine war. It was also Putin who requested this 'summit' as he reportedly runs out of options in his desperate effort to rescue Russia's economy (or, better, what remains left).

Some additional information according to the Kyiv Post:

Located just 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the Kremlin, the Moscow Oil Refinery (MNPZ), owned by Gazprom Neft, supplies up to 40% of Moscow’s fuel market and around 70% of gasoline consumed in Moscow and the surrounding region ... According to Exilenova+’s OSINT analysis, the refinery’s AVT-6 ELOU unit – described as the heart of the facility – was burning.

More than 25 Russian regions are reportedly experiencing fuel shortages, with gasoline sales restrictions appearing even in major cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg ... Regional emergency officials [in Russia's Krasnodar Krai ] said more than 500 gas stations are currently out of fuel, forcing many operators to purchase small wholesale volumes without long-term supply contracts. Russian media also reported shortages at major gas station chains due to a sharp spike in demand.

The report says that the Russian government is attempting to ease the crisis through subsidies and regulatory concessions to oil companies. In April and May alone, oil firms received about 700 billion rubles ($9 billion) in state subsidies. In June, authorities also allowed lower-quality Euro-3 gasoline to be sold instead of Euro-5. But it doesn't appear to help, according to the report citing The Moscow Times with reference to Energy experts:

“This does not solve the main problem – the Ukrainian drone strikes. As a result, in the first week of June, oil refining volumes in Russia fell below 4 million barrels per day, the lowest in 21 years."

As a background: Africa has traditionally been facing a growing trade deficit. In 2025, Chinese exports to Africa amounted to USD 225 billion, an increase of 25.8% year-on-year. This compares to USD 123 billion in imports from Africa, which grew by just 5.4% year-on year.

We must also note that Africa's least developed countries have already been enjoying zero-tariff access to China since 2005. Research suggests, however, that benefits for Africa were very limited. For example, economist Adam Minson (opens pdf) published a paper in 2008 that found the tariff-free arrangements of 2005 would bring some countries as little as an additional US$100,000 annually, commenting,

About half of the beneficiaries may see an implicit transfer of less than $100,000 per year. Barring an unexpectedly strong supply response in Africa, the preferences will not alter trade flows to China much, and certainly will not reduce the bilateral trade deficits run by those of Africa’s economies that do not export oil.