Sam Sachdeva
Sam Sachdeva is Newsroom’s national business editor, covering foreign affairs and trade, housing and other issues of national importance.
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foreign affairs
Fears over China’s plans in the Pacific and its failure to condemn the war in Ukraine appear to be seeping through to New Zealanders, with growing numbers viewing the country as a threat.
New Zealanders are becoming increasingly concerned about the threat posed by China, while considering involvement in Asia more important than ever, according to a new survey.
The latest Asia New Zealand Foundation’s Perceptions of Asia ‘survey, conducted since 1997, found 29 per cent of New Zealanders considered China friendly in 2021 – a two-point drop from 2020 – while 37 per cent considered threatening.
Views of China dropped further in a ‘mini-poll’ conducted this month, with only 13 per cent of Kiwis viewing Beijing as a friend and 58 per cent viewing it as a threat.
The result came in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with China facing criticism from some quarters for not condemning the war, as well as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s tour of the Pacific in a failed attempt to sign a regional security agreement.
Ten per cent of New Zealanders trusted China to act responsibly in the world and 58 per cent expressed a lack of confidence, compared with 34 per cent who trusted the United States and 31 per cent who did not.
A total of 63 percent supported the imposition of travel and financial sanctions against Chinese officials related to human rights abuses, with only 12 percent against it.
Japan was considered the friendliest Asian country to face New Zealand – a position it has held since 2017 – with Singapore close.
There was also a significant surge in Kiwi views across the US after the election of Joe Biden, with 61 per cent considering the country as a friend (11 points more than 2020).
A total of 79 per cent of Kiwis felt it was important for New Zealand to develop political, social and economic ties with Asia, an increase of six points from 2020 and the highest level on record in the foundation’s surveys.
However, there was a decline in the proportion of New Zealanders who felt a strong connection with Asia in their daily lives, from 26 per cent in 2020 to 21 per cent last year.
Simon Draper, executive director of the Asia New Zealand Foundation, said the results indicated a stronger integration of New Zealand into Asia instead of Kiwis seeing the region from a distance.
“Rather than New Zealand and then Asia, there is a greater sense of New Zealand with Asia … that was not the case in the years that followed.”
Speaking about China, Draper said the survey’s findings have been strongly influenced by the major news issues in the past, and it remains to be seen whether Beijing’s declining perceptions will remain so low by the end of the year.
“When you ask New Zealanders what Asia is, China actually comes into play predominantly, so if New Zealanders feel a little worried about China, we’m worried that kind of flourishing in Greater Asia as well.”
It was noteworthy that, despite concerns about China, the country was named by Kiwis as one of the most important for New Zealand to put in additional effort, he said.
“It is not a kind of walk away, it is more about a doubling of trying to understand it and more involvement. If you had an extra dollar, where would you put it in building relationships? Well, it’s going to China. “
“It’s a very diverse country of people, but also in New Zealand: if you just randomly picked two ethnic Chinese people from the street, they are probably very, very different in terms of their lived experience and connection with China and political issues .. ”
– Alice Wang, Asia New Zealand Foundation Leadership Network
Alice Wang, a Chinese New Zealander and member of the foundation’s leadership network, said she was aware of anecdotal concerns about how disapproval of the Chinese government’s actions could lead to retaliation against the Chinese community.
“There’s a slight sense of dread in terms of not wanting to stand out at work or in the community at large – not as important as the United States when you hear about media reports there.”
Some people tended to mix China as a government and a country with the Chinese diaspora, even though there were often major differences of opinion.
“It’s a very diverse country of people, but also in New Zealand: if you just randomly picked two ethnic Chinese people from the street, they are probably very, very different in terms of their lived experience and connection with China and political issues .. ”
Wang said it was not just closed borders that affected New Zealanders’ ties with Asia, but the cancellation of popular local events such as Diwali and the Lantern Festival due to the pandemic.
Jason Young, director of the New Zealand Contemporary China Research Center at Victoria University of Wellington, said the survey findings show that New Zealand is experiencing the same challenges as many countries in their ties with China, but there is still strong support for ‘ make an effort. to manage the relationship.