New Zealanders’ attitudes towards China have been shaped by several historical and contemporary
influences. These influences can be divided into diplomatic, strategic and economic factors. While many Kiwis
can agree that improving relations with China will have many benefits for New Zealand, some are still against
the idea of having closer ties with a communist country. The attitudes that New Zealanders’ held towards
China in the past have can influence the way New Zealand society views China today, as they can be passed
down generations through literature and word of mouth.
Historical economic influences have had a huge impact on the views New Zealanders’ have on China. An
example of one of these economic influences was the discovery of gold in the late 19th century. People in
Southern China were living in poverty, many were drawn to New Zealand by the chance to escape the vicious
cycle of poverty and the promise of more economic stability for their families. The Chinese received much
hostility, especially after the gold ran out. One of the main factors of this bitter attitude towards the Chinese
(besides straight bigotry) was the perceived threat of economic competition (Butler 1977, 13). Many of the
men that came to New Zealand were still indulging in opium and gambling as a way to escape the hardships
they faced. The negativity associated with opium, and the fact that the Chinese were seen as outsiders meant
that they were not completely welcomed by the Europeans. “The Chinese stores have been scenes of
indescribable vice and repulsive practices. The opium pipe has been freely dispensed… it seems strange that
Europeans should so far forget themselves as to mingle freely with almond eyed, leprosy tainted filthy PRC
men.” (Local 1885) This quote from a letter sent in to the Tuapeka Times by a resident in Arrowtown outlines
the attitude many New Zealanders would have held towards these Chinese workers. Many residents refused
to mingle with the Chinese, and looked down on those who did. This did not help relationship between the
Chinese and the native residents of the mining community. However, there were others who did not share
this view. In another letter to the same publication, a statement from another Otago resident read “The
towns of Otago are struggling to survive. I support Chinese immigration. They are well behaved, they are important customers who work hard.” (Local 1885).
PRC has a huge economic influence in modern day New Zealand. For example, in 2017, visitors from China
contributed over $1.5 billion to the New Zealand economy. This figure is projected to rise to $4.3 billion by
2023. (Ministry of Business, 2017) Building closer ties with China would cause the amount of Chinese tourism
expenditure to increase even more, which would be popular with the majority of New Zealanders as the cash
received from the tourists will flow back into the local community. However, there has also been much
controversy towards the Chinese investment in New Zealand economy. Stephen Jacobi, executive director of
the NZ China Council, stated in an interview with Sam Sachdeva from Stuff.co.nz that "Often people are
frightened about what they don't know, but this country was built on foreign investment, it's always been
built on foreign investment.” He further explains that some New Zealanders are concerned that the Chinese
investment may bring in an influx of Chinese migrants who may not fit into their idea of an ideal society or
have a fear that the newcomers will take over their homes and businesses (Sachdeva 2017). These issues that
some New Zealanders have today are almost identical to the fears that the mining community had during the
gold rush of the 19th century, showing that attitudes towards the Chinese have been passed down through
the generations. People of Chinese descent have been blamed for escalating the current housing crisis. An
example of this was when Phil Twyford (MP for NZ’s Labour Party) released data about the number of people
with Asian sounding last names, implying that the housing crisis was caused by wealthy offshore buyers. This
caused many New Zealanders’ to develop a negative attitude towards Chinese people, and suggested that
people with Asian last names were not seen as ‘proper kiwis’ (Enoka 2015).
New Zealand was one of the first countries to recognize the PRC as one China, when the new Labour
government was elected in late 1972. New Zealand diplomats campaigned to recognise the new PRC
government as early as the year 1949, but complications arose when China entered the Korean war. Most
New Zealanders did not agree with China’s stance in the war, but were also aware of the power and influence
that China had globally. A Prime Minister’s Department memo written in 1956 mentioned that the New
Zealand public was willing to recognize China “at anytime the government wishes to accord it”, despite the war against the spread of communism. (Brady 2008, 5)
Several contemporary diplomatic factors have had an influence of the public’s views of China in New Zealand.
The New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement was signed in 2008, in the hopes of securing a larger share of
the rapidly growing Chinese market. China became New Zealand’s biggest source of imports in 2012, and
overtook Australia as the biggest consumer of exports in 2014. New Zealand’s key industries (i.e. dairy,
tourism) are extremely dependent on China. In a survey conducted by Asia New Zealand Foundation, 91% of
respondents had positive responses about New Zealand’s exports to China. However, in another survey by the
same foundation, only 53% of New Zealanders had positive attitudes towards Chinese immigration. ( Satherley
2016, 5) This suggests that although New Zealanders appreciate the economic benefits of the Chinese, they
tend to have more negative attitudes towards the increased presence of Chinese culture that has developed
through trade and improved diplomatic relations.
China’s national strategy has had a huge historical and contemporary influence on New Zealand views on
China. Since Hu Jintao became president of the People’s Republic of China in 2002, China’s national strategy
has gradually moved away from Maoism towards an ideology that is more market-friendly. Hu implemented
changes that directed China’s near exclusive focus on rapidly increasing the GDP to a policy that better fits in
with the ideology of most New Zealanders to address concerns about inequality, environmental responsibility
and the underdevelopment of Western regions (Heath 2012,54-70). This improved social awareness would
have improved New Zealand attitudes towards China.
China’s national strategy has not always aligned with New Zealand’s more western principals. Historically,
China’s national strategy has valued Maoism over the democratic system that is in place in New Zealand. Most
New Zealanders see China’s communist society as backwards and unjust. In 1989, the Chinese government’s
violent crackdown on the pro-democracy movement, especially the events at Tiananmen Square, caused the
New Zealand public’s views towards China to sour. Diplomats at the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing at the
time wrote a discussion piece on the anti-China debate within New Zealand, and stated that “the violent reaction from outside comes from the fact that the last ten years created an image of a good China. Then suddenly it turned bad…” (Brady 2008, 13) The damage that the Tiananmen Square Massacre did to New Zealand’s view on China is still evident in today’s society, and will always be a talking point when discussing relations with China. In the past, China has placed much emphasis on reunification with Taiwan. The PRC
threatened the use of force aimed at foreign forces and Taiwan separatist forces as a means for reunification
in the 16th Party Congress Report, where much of China’s national strategy is outlined (Heath 2012,54-70). If
China had ever conducted an invasion and tried to take Taiwan by force, the peace in the Asia-Pacific would
be disturbed. The US would be forced to intervene if a war broke out. Due to various agreements signed with
the US, NZ may send troops to support their efforts to defend Taiwan. All of these factors could cause the
attitudes New Zealanders have towards China in the past to be negative.
In conclusion, there are many different economic, diplomatic and strategic factors that have impacted New
Zealanders’ views on China in the past and present. China is a powerful nation with a huge global presence
and a rapidly growing economy. Public opinions towards China differ across different demographics. Most
New Zealanders recognize the benefits of having closer ties with China, and have a positive outlook towards
China. However, there are some New Zealanders who are against closer ties with China due to various
reasons, such as cultural differences, economic insecurities or straight bigotry. With enough education and
integration, these negative attitudes some New Zealanders have towards China can be turned around.
Reference List
Butler, Peter. 1977. Gold and Opium . Waiura: Alister Taylor.
“Local and General Intelligence.”, 1885, Tuapeka Times, March 11, 1885.
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TT18850311.2.6
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment, 2017, “Key Tourism Statistics.” September 21, 2017.
http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/sectors-industries/tourism/documents-image-library/key-tourism-stat
istics.pdf
Heath, Timothy R. 2012. “What does China Want? Discerning the PRC’s National Strategy.” Asian Security vol
8, no. 1: 54-70.
Sachdeva, Sam. 2017. “What does Chinese investment mean for New Zealand?”. Stuff, March 30, 2017.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/90921865/what-does-chinese-investment-mean-for-new-zealand
Enoka, Mava. 2015. “Chinese - NZ bloggers on the housing debate turning racist.” The Wireless , July 17,2015.
http://thewireless.co.nz/articles/chinese-nz-bloggers-on-the-housing-debate-turning-racist
Brady, Anne-Marie. 2008. “New Zealand - China Relations: Common Points and Differences.” New Zealand
Journal of Asian Studies vol 10 , (2) : 1 -20.
Satherley, Nicole. 2016. “ Attitudes Toward Asian Peoples in New Zealand: Psychological Correlates and Rate of
Change Over Time.” Master thesis ., University of Auckland
