WELLINGTON, June 10 (Reuters) – For the first time in a decade, New Zealanders see the United States as more of a threat than China, a survey by the Asia New Zealand Foundation found, as concerns over trade disruption and global instability weigh on public sentiment.
• The foundation’s annual Perceptions of Asia and Asian Peoples survey, now in its 29th year, polled 2,300 people in January and February.
• 39% of respondents saw the United States as a friend of New Zealand, while 35% viewed it as a threat. By comparison, 43% saw China as a friend and 23% saw it as a threat.
• The number of people who perceived the U.S. as a friend fell significantly over the last year, while the view of China improved.
• The survey also found that 81% of New Zealanders see developing ties with Asia as important.
• “There is a growing recognition that prosperity, resilience and security will depend on the depth and quality of our relationships across Asia,” Asia New Zealand Foundation Chief Executive Suzannah Jessep said in the report.
• New Zealand and the U.S. have deepened defence, security and technology cooperation in recent years, with Wellington seeing Washington as central to Indo-Pacific stability and as a counterweight to China’s growing influence.
• At the same time, New Zealand’s exporters have been hit by U.S. tariffs, while the economy has faced pressure from higher oil prices linked to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
• “New Zealanders also still understand their sense of security largely through an economic lens, and so tariffs and disruption to global trade weigh heavily on those calculations,” said David Capie, professor of international relations at Victoria University of Wellington.
• Souring U.S. sentiment followed a broader pattern across Western liberal democracies, Capie said.
• A University of Sydney poll released in December found the majority of Australians, Japanese and Indians believe U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term has been bad for their countries.
(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Kevin Buckland)
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