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Forget UK, North America — Asia is most important to New Zealanders, poll finds
- Some three-quarters of respondents said China was the most important Asian nation to New Zealand’s future, even as 37 per cent saw Beijing as a threat
- New Zealand’s affinity with Asia could be explained by similarities in cultures and values, says head of organisation that conducted the annual survey
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Su-Lin Tanin Singapore
A large majority of New Zealanders see developing political, economic and social ties with Asia as critical and consider the region more important than Britain and North America, according to a survey conducted by the Asia New Zealand Foundation.
The group, a non-profit organisation that is mostly funded by the New Zealand government, said in its latest annual “Perceptions of Asia and Asian Peoples” survey that New Zealanders perceived the region as “increasingly front and centre for their future”, and this view had grown over the past 26 surveys.
Almost three-quarters of 2,323 respondents surveyed late last year said China was the most important country in Asia to New Zealand’s future, though about 37 per cent also viewed China as a threat after Russia and North Korea.
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The foundation’s executive director Simon Draper said the survey showed that New Zealanders, while cautious on China, understood there was a need to continue to invest time and energy into the Asian giant and it was this balance that underpinned Wellington’s extensive engagement with Beijing.
Draper expected an extensive delegation to accompany New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins on his visit to China at the end of this month.
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