Perceptions of Asia: Pacific New Zealanders’ Perspectives
Since 1997, the Asia New Zealand Foundation Te Whītau Tūhono has surveyed how New Zealanders perceive Asia and their relationships with its countries and peoples. This report, the latest in our Perceptions series, brings together perspectives and insights from Pacific New Zealanders to help understand the bonds across New Zealand, Asia and the Pacific and how they could be strengthened.
Download the full report
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This research looks at Pacific New Zealanders’ perspectives of Asia and of Asia’s engagement in the Pacific region and explores where these perspectives converge and diverge from those of other demographic groups within New Zealand.
Ties between the Pacific and Asia are longstanding and multifaceted.
Pacific peoples have ancient connections to Asia through the prehistoric migration of Austronesian-speaking peoples, likely originating in Taiwan and moving through Southeast Asia, with eventual settlement on the islands of the Pacific Ocean. These ancient ties, combined with more recent migrations and engagement between Asia and the Pacific, create a dynamic, multilayered framework of connections that continue to have relevance today.
New Zealand’s Pacific population is growing and diversifying, just as New Zealand’s relationships across Asia are expanding and deepening. It is therefore timely to develop a more nuanced understanding of Pacific New Zealanders’ connections to Asia, how they view Asia’s role in the Pacific region, and their aspirations for strengthening New Zealand’s engagement with both Asia and the Pacific.
The findings show that Pacific New Zealanders’ perceptions of Asia are shaped strongly by lived experience and personal connection. Family ties, friendships, education, and media all play a central role. This is reflected in high levels of interest in Asian cultures, languages, and media, and generally positive views of the region.
At the same time, Pacific New Zealanders hold balanced and nuanced views of Asia’s growing role in the Pacific. Asia is widely seen as critical to the region’s future, especially in areas such as technology, trade, and education, but this is accompanied by concerns around sovereignty, debt, environmental pressures, and geopolitical competition. There is a clear desire for more reciprocal partnerships and broader engagement with a range of Asian partners.
Finally, the report highlights the important role Pacific New Zealanders see for themselves in strengthening connections across New Zealand, Asia, and the Pacific. Drawing on their cultural knowledge, transnational ties, and experience navigating multiple worlds, many view themselves as natural “bridges” between regions. At the same time, there is recognition of the need to deepen Asia-related knowledge and ensure that Pacific voices, both in New Zealand and in the Pacific Islands, are accurately represented.
The report draws on data from the annual Perceptions of Asia and Asian Peoples surveys (2021–2025), a supplementary mini-poll of over 300 New Zealanders of Pacific descent (carried out January–February 2026), and four online talanoa/focus groups (conducted in February 2026).
This report offers valuable insights for policymakers, educators, and community leaders seeking to deepen New Zealand’s engagement with Asia. For New Zealand, building resilient and enduring relationships with Asia will depend not only on government policy and economic strategy, but also on the strength of societal connections and the confidence of its people. Pacific New Zealanders, through their histories, identities, and networks, are an integral part of this story.
Key highlights
Perceptions of Asia:
Pacific New Zealanders’ view Asia through personal connections and lived experiences, such as family, friendships, education, and travel.
Respecting elders and valuing relationships are seen as the most significant similarity between Pacific cultures and some Asian cultures.
Pacific New Zealanders are more likely to be interested in cultural outputs from Asia (such as languages, music, art, literature, television, movies and games) than non-Pacific New Zealanders.
There is a correlation between Pacific New Zealanders’ interests in Asia and their engagement with Asian media, particularly in terms of their use of multiple media sources for information.
Pacific New Zealanders perceive China and Southeast Asia as being friendlier to New Zealand compared to perceptions of non-Pacific New Zealanders.
Perceptions of Asia in the Pacific:
While Asia is seen as an important partner for the future of Pacific Island countries, Pacific New Zealanders also viewed the Pacific region as being of great significance to Asia and New Zealand.
Two-thirds of Pacific New Zealanders believe that technology and innovation in Asia will have a positive impact on the Pacific region over the next 20 years.
Over 80 percent of Pacific New Zealanders are at least fairly concerned with Pacific nations’ debt repayments to China and great power interests in deep sea mining in the Pacific.
Pacific New Zealanders understand why China dominates the Asia narrative in the Pacific given its significant presence in the region, but have aspirations for an increased focus on other Asian partners and more balanced reporting in the media.
Although trade and economic ties (including tourism) are regarded as a top priority area for future Asia-Pacific Islands cooperation overall, female Pacific New Zealanders saw climate change and environmental issues being of greater importance.
Key aspirations for the relationship between Asia and the Pacific include more collaboration with Asian countries and increased scholarship opportunities, as well as knowledge sharing on issues such as climate change and language retention.
Deepening relationships across New Zealand, Asia and the Pacific
Compared to non-Pacific New Zealanders, the Pacific diaspora was less likely to trust major powers to act responsibly in the world.
Yet Pacific New Zealanders strongly support New Zealand, Australia, China, and Japan taking a leading role in the Pacific.
Despite the Pacific region’s increased engagement with Asian partners, the most trusted powers continue to be its traditional powers (namely Australia, New Zealand, and the United States), although trust levels remain below that of the non-Pacific population.
Pacific New Zealanders rate the importance of Asia-related skills for the New Zealand future workforce more highly than non-Pacific New Zealanders, particularly when it comes to understanding Asian languages, religions, and societies.
Pacific New Zealanders see their skills and experiences navigating diverse cultural situations as being valuable assets for strengthening New Zealand’s relationships with Asia and the Pacific.
Download the full report
pdf, 14.09 MB
The Foundation's Research Programme commissions studies that support informed public conversations about New Zealand’s relationship with Asia. We also support the next generation of scholars through our Foundation Research Grants.
