As the leaders of NATO's 28 member nations gather in Wales to discuss the crisis in Ukraine and Australia begins flying arms to Kurdish forces battling Islamic State (IS) militants in northern Iraq, new polling sheds light on Australians' attitudes to world affairs.

The 2014 ANUpoll on Foreign Policy finds strong support for Australia's alliance with the United States, though a majority of Australians see our relationship with China as equally or more important.

US alliance remains popular

In recent days, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has agreed to a United States request for help to transport military equipment into northern Iraq. The ANUpoll finds Australians maintain strong support for the ANZUS alliance, with 81 per cent saying it is very important or fairly important to Australia's interests.

That figure is down a modest five points over the past 12 months.

Charles Miller from the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific says the finding is no surprise, with surveys since the 1990s consistently showing the alliance retains the support of a substantial number of Australians.

"I would expect that this will continue to be the case for the foreseeable future absent some truly wildcard event," he said.

The ANU poll asked: How important do you think the Australian alliance is with the United States under the ANZUS treaty for protecting Australia's security?

Minority view China as military threat

The ANU poll asked respondents whether they considered the growth of China to be a threat to Australia - both militarily and economically.

Australia's relationship with China has also been in the spotlight recently, after Palmer United Party (PUP) leader Clive Palmer launched a scathing attack on the Chinese government, labelling them mongrels who shoot their own people. He subsequently apologised, but Tasmanian PUP Senator Jacqui Lambie refused to back down over her suggestions that China could invade Australia.

More than half of those polled by the ANU see China as an economic threat, but only three in 10 agree with Senator Lambie that it is a military threat.

"The 30 per cent of respondents who consider China to be a military threat appears to be a little lower than in similar polls conducted by the AES and Lowy recently, which found the corresponding figure to be over 50 per cent and over 40 per cent respectively," Dr Miller said.

"However, I think the difference lies more in the question wording – AES for instance ask whether China is likely to be a security threat, a broader term than this poll, which asks whether it is a military threat.

"Overall, the perception that China is a potential security threat to Australia has been subtly rising in recent years relative to the early 2000s, when most people's minds were on the threat from Islamist terrorism. However, this runs counter to the consensus amongst security experts, most of whom agree China is not a current threat."

The ANU poll asked respondents whether they thought the growth of China as a major economy was a positive or negative development for Australia.

Overall, a strong majority of poll respondents say China's growth is a positive development for Australia.

Andrew Carr from ANU's School of International Political and Strategic Studies says Australians are "rightly welcoming" of China's economic rise and "this is for the moment more important for them than any long-term risks it may present".

The poll finds Australians are evenly divided on whether the US or China is more important to Australia's interests, a finding the leader of the ANUpoll project, Ian McAllister, says highlights a key foreign policy challenge for Australia.

"Maintaining the delicate balance between Australia's long-term security alliance with the USA and Australia's trade links with China is perhaps the greatest foreign policy challenge for any Australian government," Professor McAllister said.

The ANU poll asked respondents whether they thought Australia's relationship with the United States or China was more important.

Indonesia seen as 'a friend, not an ally'

The ANU poll asked: Do you consider Indonesia an ally of Australia, friendly but not an ally, unfriendly, or an enemy of Australia?

A majority of respondents see Indonesia as a friend of Australia but not an ally, and six in 10 Australians believe Indonesia has not assisted Australia's efforts to combat people-smuggling.

"The public's wariness towards Indonesia is partly based on the perception that Indonesia has not assisted Australia on reducing terrorism and in combating people smuggling," Professor McAllister said.

Do you think that Indonesia has assisted or not assisted Australia in combating people smuggling?

Foreign aid support dips

Support for Australia's foreign aid program has slipped, but remains strong at 75 per cent, down by 10 points since 2001.

"Support for humanitarian aid is softening generally but Australians still prefer humanitarian aid over aid for political or commercial ends," said Jill Sheppard from the ANU School of Politics and International Relations.

The ANU poll asked respondents whether they approved or disapproved of the Australian Government giving aid to poorer countries around the world.

The ANU poll asked respondents whether foreign aid should be given primarily on humanitarian grounds, or whether Australia's commercial and political interests should play a significant part.

Australians retain favourable view of UN

The poll also examined Australians' views on a range of other international institutions, finding views of the United Nations were strongly favourable. However, other key bodies including the World Health Organisation, World Bank and World Trade Organisation did not engender the same levels of trust.

The ANU poll asked: What is your opinion of the United Nations?

The ANU poll asked respondents to state how much confidence they had in a number of international institutions.

The telephone survey of 1,204 adults was conducted in May 2014.