How do New Zealanders and Australians view Asia?

How do we view Asia? Who are our biggest friends in the region? What issues keep us up at night, and where do we see the opportunities? These are the questions at the centre of two new polls from the Asia New Zealand Foundation and the Lowy Institute, a leading Sydney-based thinktank.   

As you might expect there are many similarities between the two countries, though some are more obvious than others. Both New Zealand and Australia identify each other as their closest friends in the region, underscoring the importance attached to the cross-Tasman relationship. Perhaps more interestingly both countries express high trust in Japan and the United Kingdom, compared with mixed sentiment towards China, their mutual largest trading partner.   

Sentiment towards China is mixed on both sides of the Tasman. Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

Sentiment towards China is mixed on both sides of the Tasman. Photo by

There are also some notable differences between the polls, shaped by our distinctive geography, national interests and identities. Australians tend to see bigger roles for India and Indonesia, for example, likely reflecting its closer proximity as well as greater sustained investments in those relationships. Similarly, while both nations express concern over cyber-attacks and climate change, Australians are more likely to be concerned about military conflict in the Asia region and foreign interference in domestic politics.  

Friends and threats  

New Zealanders have long seen Australia as our best friend, and the results from this year’s Perceptions of Asia survey are no exception: Australia tops the list, with 92 percent of New Zealanders identifying Australia as a friend (69 percent saying it is a close friend).   

Fortunately, the feeling is mutual. New Zealand tops the Lowy Poll’s ‘feelings thermometer’, which measures Australians’ warmth towards other countries on a scale of 0° to 100°, scoring a toasty 84°. New Zealand has taken the top spot in every year it’s been included.  

Both countries pick Japan as their best friend in Asia. Seventy-five percent of New Zealanders feel Japan is a friend, with 21 percent saying it’s a close friend. Japan also scores 75° on Lowy’s feelings thermometer and nabs the title of ‘Australia’s best friend in Asia’, with 42 percent selecting it out of six options.      

The United Kingdom also scores highly on both sides of the Tasman, although it is seen more positively by New Zealanders (83 percent in New Zealand compared with 74° on the Lowy Poll). India is also seen as generally positive in both countries. Fifty-two percent of New Zealanders see India as a friend, compared with a 54° rating among Australians.  

Feelings toward India are generally positive in both New Zealand and Australia. Photo by Naveed Ahmed on Unsplash

Feelings toward India are generally positive in both New Zealand and Australia. Photo by

Both countries continue to hold mixed views of China, their largest trading partner. Thirty-three percent of New Zealanders see China as a friend, while 32 percent feel it is a threat. China scores an almost identical 34° on the feelings thermometer. This similarity in the perception of China is interesting given that Australia has been on the sharper end of China’s foreign policy over the last few years.  

There is some discrepancy when it comes to the United States, however. While Australian sentiment towards the United States remains generally positive, it drops four degrees in this year’s Lowy Poll to 59° — its lowest rating in the poll’s 20-year history. By contrast, sentiment towards the United States among New Zealanders has warmed considerably since 2020. Sixty-five percent of New Zealanders identify it as a friend, a result unchanged from the previous survey, and a significant 19-percentage point jump from 2020.   

Australians also appear to feel considerably warmer towards its neighbouring Indonesia. Indonesia scores 56° on the feelings thermometer, while only 38 percent of New Zealanders see it as a friend.   

North Korea is seen as the most threating country by both Australians and New Zealanders, scoring just 15° of the feelings thermometer and seen as a friend by just six percent of New Zealanders and as a threat by 69 percent.     

Trust in major powers 

When it comes to how much trust New Zealanders and Australians have in global powers, again Japan scores highly on both sides of the ditch. Japan is Australia’s most trusted major power, with 87 percent of Australians saying they at least ‘somewhat’ trust Japan to act responsibly in the world. Japan is New Zealanders’ most trusted country in Asia (56 percent), only coming after Australia (74 percent) and the United Kingdom (64 percent).  

Trust in the United States has fallen on both sides of the Tasman since last surveys. Fifty-six percent of Australians at least somewhat trust the United States to act responsibly in the world, down five percentage points from the previous year. Thirty-eight percent of New Zealanders have at least high trust in the United States, a two-percentage point drop from the year prior, despite increased perceptions of ‘friendliness’.  

Trust in the US as a major power had fallen in both countries. Photo by Jorge Alcala on Unsplash

Trust in the US as a major power had fallen in both countries. Photo by

There are some interesting differences when it comes to India. India ranks fourth most-trustworthy among Australians, after France and the United Kingdom and ahead of the United States, with 80 percent expressing they at least somewhat trust India to act responsibly. Meanwhile, India trails in at number seven behind Germany, France and the United States, with only 20 percent of New Zealanders expressing high or very trust in India to act responsibly in the world.   

Indonesia, China and Russia are the three least trusted major powers among both New Zealanders and Australians. However, levels of trust in Indonesia are considerably higher among Australians with 52 percent at least ‘somewhat’ trusting Indonesia, compared to 14 percent of New Zealanders expressing high trust.   

Seventeen percent of Australians trust China ‘somewhat’ or a ‘great deal’, in keeping with the previous Lowy Poll. Twelve percent of New Zealanders have at least high trust in China, a one percentage-point drop from the previous year.   

Security and defence relations  

Again, Japan tops both lists when it comes to security and defence relations. The Lowy Poll asks Australians which country they’d most like to Australia to establish closer security ties with beyond the United States. Japan tops the list, with 45 percent of Australians selecting it from a list of six options. This was followed distantly by India, Indonesia, France and South Korea respectively.   

New Zealanders also see Japan as its most important security and defence partner in Asia, with 48 percent selecting it. This was followed by South Korea, Singapore, China and India respectively.    

Threats to national interests   

When it comes to potential threats to New Zealand’s vital interests, New Zealanders are more worried about cyber-attacks, fake news and disinformation, and climate change than a global economic downturn, military conflict breaking out in Asia, and the proliferation of nuclear weapons.     

New Zealanders are more worried about cyber attacks. Photo by FlyD on Unsplash

New Zealanders are more worried about cyber attacks. Photo by

While cyber-attacks also top the list of Australians’ concerns, unsurprisingly military conflict between China and the United States over Taiwan, followed closely by military conflict in the South China sea are seen as the next most serious threats clearly reflecting Australia’s heightened threat perception and investment in regional military contingencies. These are followed by climate change and North Korea’s nuclear programme.   

Australians are also more likely to express greater concern about foreign interference in domestic politics. Fifty-three percent of Australians see foreign interference as a critical threat, while only 33 percent of New Zealanders see it as an area of high concern.   

Immigration and cultural diversity   

New Zealanders are more optimistic about the impact of immigration. Fifty-two percent of New Zealanders expect immigration from Asia to have a positive impact on New Zealand’s future. The same proportion of New Zealanders also expect Asian cultures, languages and traditions to have a positive impact.   

By contrast, 48 percent of Australians think immigration (not Asia-specific) is too high. Despite this, the vast majority of Australians (92 percent) says they think Australia’s culturally diverse population has been mostly or entirely positive for the country.   

More reading

New Zealanders’ Perceptions of Asia and Asian Peoples can be found here. Data was collected November 2023.  

The Lowy Poll can be found here. Data was collected March 2024. 

- Asia Media Centre