More Than Half of New Zealanders Now View China as a Threat: Survey

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern shake hands before the meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on April 1, 2019. Kenzaburo Fukuhara/Pool/Getty Images

New Zealanders’ perception of China has shifted dramatically over the first half of 2022, with the majority now viewing the Asian nation as a “threat,” according to a recent survey.

A mini-survey conducted by Asia New Zealand Foundation in June found that 58 percent of New Zealanders view China as a “threat” and a record low 13 percent saw the country as a “friend.”