New Zealand poll shows US seen as more of a threat than China

Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Kevin Buckland

or 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.

The report was first published on Reuters.