Earlier this year the Asia New Zealand Foundation published its latest annual report surveying New Zealanders’ perceptions of Asia and Asian Peoples. The news was not good for China.
When asked for their views in November 2021, 29 percent of kiwi respondents thought China was friendly to New Zealand, down two per cent from 2020, and 37 percent thought China was threatening, up one per cent on 2020.
The Foundation then conducted a mini poll in June, when China’s engagement in the Pacific, speculation about its support for Russia’s war on Ukraine and other issues were in the headlines. This time just 13 per cent of New Zealanders thought of China as a friend, while 58 per cent saw it as a threat.
While a record low for New Zealand, this is not as low as elsewhere. The Pew Research Center published research this year indicating concerns about China are at an all-time high among the nations it has surveyed for two decades. Those holding ‘unfavourable’ views of China were over 80% in a number of countries, including the United States and Australia.
But the Asia New Zealand Foundation report also asked New Zealanders what we should do about our relationship with China, and it’s here that the story begins to change.
Significantly, those same kiwis surveyed also identified China (narrowly behind Australia) as the country they felt New Zealand should most put extra effort into developing a relationship with.
Sixty per cent also said they supported academic collaboration between New Zealand and Chinese experts. Forty per cent saw value in jointly funding aid projects in our region with China, with 27 per cent opposed. A third supported allowing firms from China to supply technology to New Zealand for critical infrastructure, with 38 per cent against.
Perhaps most revealing were the questions focused on young New Zealanders. Thirty-nine per cent of respondents believed Chinese to be the most useful foreign language for young New Zealanders to learn (Spanish was a distant second on 8 per cent and Japanese at 3 per cent).
And young people thought China was the second most ‘interesting’ country in Asia, behind only the allure of Japan.
I was also struck by the number of young New Zealanders submitting essays to our Council as part of a recent application process who advocated that New Zealand look at the approach of countries like Singapore as a model for balancing positive and beneficial relationships with China, the United States and other larger powers.
In my own experience of engaging on a daily basis with both China advocates and sceptics, this cumulative data better reflects where our collective head is at when it comes to thinking about one of our most important bilateral partners.
Yes, there’s increasing concern about some of China’s actions, and a healthy debate within our society on the New Zealand-China relationship.
But there are a large number of New Zealanders, whether exporters and manufacturers, local governments, students and young professionals, Māori iwi, education institutions, homestay hosts, tourist operators or overseas travellers, who quietly look wider than one-sided headlines and encouragement from some quarters to choose sides.
Not to mention the 5.3% of New Zealanders who identify as Chinese, including many new kiwis born in China who maintain family and business links there.
This all suggests that kiwis know it’s possible to have concerns about some China-related developments while seeing positives in others. After all we do this with our relationships with other countries, including Australia’s 501 policy and the Roe vs Wade decision in the United States.
Sensible, balanced voices don’t tend to make good clickbait. But there are a lot out there.
This even handedness underpins the independent foreign policy that our government leaders have emphasised recently. As Prime Minister Ardern noted in her 1 August speech to the 2022 China Business Summit in Auckland, “even as China becomes more assertive in the pursuit of its interests, there are still shared interests on which we can and should cooperate”.
It’s encouraging that many New Zealanders appear to agree.
*Alistair Crozier is Executive Director of the New Zealand China Council. You can contact him here.
27 Comments
Interesting. I agree that we should do business with whoever we choose. But all trade should be inline with our strategic objectives. Being so beholden to an autocratic state when we are supposedly a liberal democracy, says that we probably have no strategic objectives.
We are currently watching far bigger countries with far more dynamic economies crumble in Europe as a result of over reliance on a single commodity.
We rely on China for the majority of our economy. Foolhardy.
Sounds like young Nzers are not receiving the up to date education on the contemporary world situation at all.
indeed, most Nzers look at the world through the US lens.
Sad, really.
An another example, many yes ago, a CEO of big ministry in Wellly was very amazed to learn that China had the largest GDP share before 1900s through a presentation by one of big accounting firms.
That showed the quality of senior leaders in NZ.
I think if you had the chance to visit China in person (very important) and go deep into the countryside and ask any of the elderly villagers this question:" how is your life NOW compared to 40 years ago". I think you will probably find out why the Chinese still strongly support CCP. All they have done is change people's lives in a good way in general. It's our perception that they are not as free as us.
Lol.
Why would we identify more with a race of people that speak a different language, look physically different, have a completely different political outlook, different traditions, value sets, and and a completely diverse history of existence?
America is an ex British colony, just like us.
To nz China is just a source of cheap manufacturing and market for milk powder. We will always gravitate towards thier sphere of influence when push comes to shove.
Autocratic Russia. We are all over that. Trade embargoes. School kids forced to participate in demonstrations. How dare you threaten another nation!
Autocratic China... Hmmm, can we sell you some more milk power, investment properties? Perhaps you'd like a permanent visa?
Etc etc..
China and the Chinese people have a lot to offer the world.
The Chinese Communist Party however, only has threats, coercion, supression of fundamental human rights, crimes against humanity, and an insatiable need to expand its ideological, social and physical reach.
These two things need to always be viewed seperately. I would think most of those who view China positively at present would probably agree.... or maybe they just don't hold any respect for basic human rights and liberal values...
Would you be happy selling food to the workers at Auschwitz? Knowing full well what was going on?
I've got 50 cents that says that China will outlast the Chinese Communist Party, and sooner than you think.
I reckon the US will remain the dominant world power for some time, with Europe in turmoil and China looking pretty bad too. Maybe Mahuta should be more concerned with repairing US NZ relations instead of getting all the cuzzie bros government consulting contracts.
Brings back memories.
https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22568893?search%5Bi%5D%5Bsubject_authori…
From a geographical and resource perspective, the US is completely overpowered. No other country comes close to thier natural advantages.
The only thing threatening the US is civil war and nukes. There is a reason why they have more navy than everyone else combined.
CPC is able to maintain its role as a source of development and stability: Russian State Duma member
During the past decade, the world has increasingly witnessed a trend of "the East is rising while the West is declining" in the spheres of economy, security and discourse power. Western countries, particularly the US, plagued by internal woes, have sought the old path of passing the buck and instigating turmoil elsewhere to ease their own pressure. China, representative of the emerging countries, is proposing new solutions to global problems. By advocating win-win development, facilitating consultation and reconciliation and proposing a balanced and effective security mechanism, China is striving to build a community with a shared future for mankind.
The China thing is complicated. We would be noticeably poorer as a nation without our trade with them. But then you start to see the strings attached & you go... Really?
Yes, really. They are the biggest bear on the planet, by miles these days. Russia's respect is only because they have nuclear weapons. For everything else, they lose. China has brains, a good work ethic, good family setups & more, but is sadly run by thugs.
It's hard being perfect.
That is the scary thing. The Rise of CCP is the result of the Cultural Revolution in the West. The West has rejected its heritage of individual freedoms and productive work for a mirage of financialisation, manipulation and control, while pissing away our inherited wealth. The stuff I hear from Western politicians these days is just fascism in new clothes. Sad.
Our current colonial masters seem to have started down the traditional road of declining powers, throwing their allies under the bus, not that the silly Europeans don't deserve it of course, but it would be nice if we could avoid their fate.
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