Another Tuesday, another Essential Poll — one that has some fascinating insights on how we’ve cooled on China.

Australians, it appears, are rediscovering America and our old friend the United Kingdom while wanting to disengage from the Middle Kingdom.

Indeed, China is seen as a negative in every citing aspect of life other than culture. Perhaps Mama’s making Kan-Tong.

And when it comes to choosing between American and China, well, there is no choice. Support for strengthening our relationship with China has fallen in half in less than two years while support for strengthening relations with the United States is up by 40 per cent.

No wonder Beijing Bob Carr has switched to full Ramallah Rob mode and is concentrating his energies on out-looning the Greens over Israel rather than bothering about those Confucious Institutes.